The Saga of Steve Leonard
by The Freaky Butt Mate
Summary: Darren keeps a diary... And so does Steve. Read what happens to him in his path to revenge.
1. Introduction

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**A.N** - Hey people! Thanks for clicking on my story! This is just basically a diary of Steve's. It's meant to be short at the beginning, don't worry. . Enjoy!  
  
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Tongue moist.  
  
Scars -fingers - all ten.  
  
See photos below:

**DARREN IS STILL ALIVE**  
  
Met Hurston? Faked death?  
  
**TOOK MY PLACE**  
  
He has become a  
  
** VAMPIRE**  
  
Funeral tomorrow. Will wait. Watch.  
  
Kill him.  
  
**HE TOOK MY PLACE**  
  
----  
  
It's been a week since Darren 'died'. One whole week since he was put under the ground, dead. One whole week since he was buried.  
  
One whole week since Hurston dug him back up again.  
  
I never believed this could happen. I was the one that was meant to become the assistant - not DARREN! I tried going there - I tried killing him - but how can I kill the person that has been my best friend since when we were little?   
  
I hate him.  
  
I HATE HIM.  
  
But I can't kill him. Yet. By the cross on my hand, by the blood I spilt that day in the cemetary facing Darren, I swore I would train and train and train, that I would learn everything there was to know about vampires, and even if I had learnt everything, I would learn more, until the day I would face him again. Until the day I will kill him. I don't care how long it takes me - I will hunt him down and kill him. I want to watch his face writhe in agony as I pull his limbs apart, as I peel his skin from his flesh and sew his mouth shut with garlic.   
  
I want to see him begging for his life in front of me. I want to hear him scream. I want him DEAD.  
  
And it will be by my left hand that I will kill him.  
  
----  
  
We lost today in soccer. It was the first time in - well, ever - that we lost. The team... they really miss Darren. I admit, for a second, I almost missed him too. And then I looked at my hand. And then I remembered. I had vowed to kill him. There was no way I was going to waste time in missing him - just because we lost a game in soccer.  
  
----  
  
Annie keeps asking questions. She knows something strange is up. Should I tell her? Should I tell her?   
  
No. I won't tell her. She's too young - she's only nine, for crying out loud! And plus, she's a girl. She won't be able to handle the truth. The truth that her 'oh so beloved' brother has become a creature of the night. Killing people just to survive. It sickens me to think that he would become like that.  
  
What sickens me more, though, is that I wanted to be the same once.  
  
I don't care. I don't care. I don't CARE.  
  
I'm not like that anymore. I don't have 'evil blood'. I don't kill people! I'm just wild - ADHD, that's all, dammit! I DON'T GO AROUND SUCKING PEOPLE'S BLOOD!  
  
I AM NOT THE EVIL ONE!  
  
----  
  
She found my diary. Read it. Reckons I ought to go see the doctors again. Plus she got a phone call from school. They think I've gone crazy or something. Just because I'm staring at maps all geo lessons and making stakes in woodworks doesn't mean I'm crazy, dammit!  
  
I'm driven, that's what. Driven to revenge.  
  
----  
  
Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years.  
  
Its been four years since Darren died. I'm sixteen now. These last few years I've been looking through every bit of information on vampires I could get my hands on. Every website on the net, every book at the librabries - I think the librarians are sick of seeing me, actually.  
  
But this is not enough. I need experience, real experience, before I can hunt him down and truly kill him. So I dropped out of school. I was packing my things when I came upon this diary. It was hidden down the back of my desk. I think I threw it there a few years back in a fit of rage - something my mother had said, probably.   
  
Annie still thinks something's up. But I can't tell her. She's still not old enough. She's only thirteen. Yes, true, that was basically my age when I found out, but still...  
  
Tomorrow, I go out and face the world.  
  
Tomorrow, I start my new life.  
  
Tomorrow - I am a vampire hunter.  
  
I will kill Darren Shan. 


	2. One

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**A.N** Hi again! Thanks for reading my story, and thanks for the reviews! . I'm sorry that this is so short. I promise to make the next few longer. Mwuaha!

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I was already on the train leaving my hometown far behind when I realised I had missed one important detail.

Where do I start?

Even with all that I thought I knew of the creatures of the night, I had no idea where they lived, who they could be, what they really looked liked. For a second I even when so far as to think I should just call the whole thing off and return home, and try to become normal again. But then I felt my left hand itching, as it always did whenever I had those doubtful thoughts. I knew that I could never back down on what I had sworn to do that night, four years ago.

And so, at the next stop, I did the only thing that came into my head: I bought the all the latest newspapers, found a nearby café, and began scanning them for anything that seemed to be out of the ordinary – a high amount of missing people, perhaps, or, if luck was with me, possibly even bodies discovered drained of blood. But that was an unlucky day for me – there was nothing in the papers.

While I had been scanning through the news, a group of loud teenagers about my own age had entered the café and sat at a booth near mine. It was only as I glanced up from my paper did I notice a few of the guys were looking at me and snickering.

"Man, when did the goths arrive in town?" One of them asked. A girl sitting next to him slapped his arm.

"Be nice! He's kinda cute, actually."

"'Cute'? I reckon he's hot!" Another girl said. The guy who's lap she was sitting in pouted.

"Aw, what about me?"

"You're my boyfriend, idiot. I wouldn't be dating you if you weren't hot."

Feeling colour rising to my cheeks, I quickly pulled my scarf higher around my face, gathered my newspapers and left the café. I could almost feel the eyes of the teenagers watching my back as I left. As I passed the window, I caught a glance at my reflection, and I understood partly why they were looking at the first place – my clothes were black (I never really liked colours) and my fair hair long and unkempt (what use was there in taking care of hair?). Overall, I did look kind of strange – especially with my long scarf wound round my neck, even though it was a warm spring day. But I needed that. Ever since that damned spider of Hurston's bit me, my immunity system was a lot weaker than normal people's.

What I couldn't understand was the girls' reaction. I'd never been good with girls – even though I seemed confident, I was always a nervous wreck around girls. Not that I really was that interested in them. Most of the guys back at school thought I was gay or something. I guess it had something to do with the fact that they all had had at least ten girlfriends while I had none.

But then again, I had more important things to worry about. I had a vow to fulfil. Still, there were times I envied everyone else. They had nothing to worry about. They didn't have dreams of revenge.  
  
Those first few months were all the same – I travelled from town to town, reading newspapers and watching the news at every backpacking hotel I came across. But never once did I find anything. At one point I discovered I was running low on money, so I was forced to doing a couple of jobs – the most memorable being the few weeks working at a fast food store.  
  
Then I decided on a different tactic. Instead of buying the big newspapers, I bought something else – I got the tabloids. It was on the third day of buying these when I came across it. It was only a few hours later when I was on a train, bound for this new city, the magazine clutched in my hand with a large red pen circling the title:  
"Another Child Dead – Are These Really Normal Murders?"

And underneath:  
"Last night, little Betty Jamieson, aged 9, was found drained of her blood in her suburban home..."


	3. Two

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**A.N** w00t! Thanks for reading! By the way, I've decided that the Darren Shan saga will be set in Ireland, not the normal England. Don't ask me why, I just like the Irish accent better. .

Oh, and Emikae? I… kinda got lost halfway through your question… I feel dizzy now... whoo boy…

And about who found his diary - good question. o.O I've only read up to book 8, so I'm making most of this up as I go along. Does that make sense? Hmmm.. -walks off to ponder-

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"Oh, hey. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has."

"So, how've you been? Finally gotten a girlfriend yet?"

"No…no, I've just been busy."

"Oh. You're still… you're still looking for that thing, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"Oh... oh… well… is there any reason why you called?"

"Nah, not really, just… just wanted to say hi and see how you're going."

"Well I'm fine. Mum and dad though…"

"Oh, yeah, it was today, wasn't it?"

"Yeah… today… Four years ago…"

Silence.

"I… I still remember it. He was lying there, on the table, looking like he was just sleeping, that he would wake up at any moment… I, I could almost _swear_ he was still alive!"

"Well… your mind does funny things to you when your-"

"Steve. You don't have to lie to me anymore. I… I can guess what happened. It had something to do with the spider bite, didn't it, then you getting better? He, he struck a deal with someone to help you, and that's what your searching for now -"

"Look, I've gotta go now. Bye."

Annie Shan began to protest, but I only heard a tinny voice through the receiver as I placed it back on the hook. I stayed that way, leaning over the phone, gripping the edge of the table with trembling hands, biting my lower lip.

Though she didn't know the specifics, she had guessed. But what she had guessed was wrong. Darren didn't strike a deal to save me. He struck a deal for his own greedy reasons. He took my place.

That is one thing I will never forget. I will never forget that he took my place.

With an enraged yell, I straightened and punched the wall in front of me.

"Damn you, Shan! Damn you!"

----

It had been ten days since I arrived at the 'City of Fallen Children' as the tabloids seemed to be calling it. But in those ten days, I had only a small amount of luck. I did a little bit of research, finding out who the other murdered children were. I found them out with little trouble – though it was a large town, everyone seemed to know everyone, and so basically the first person I asked knew everything about it.

I found out that all the kids were between the ages five to twelve. All six of them were killed at equal intervals – every ten days, it seemed. And every one of them had a set of three small scratches on their faces, with no recollection of how they got them. But other than that, I had no leads. There were no connections between the murders, no patterns; just six kids bled dry in two months.

So I took to walking the streets at night. I had no weapons, stupidly believing I could use my own two bare hands to beat back a vampire if the need arose. I patrolled the better areas – the places where most young families lived.

On the first night – three days after Betty Jamieson's death – I saw nothing.

On the second night – nothing.

Third night – lucky guess, nothing.

Fourth night – nothing, once again.

Fifth night – something. It was only a tiny thing, so tiny that if I hadn't accidentally walked into the kid, knocking over his shopping and making us both scramble for everything, I would never have seen them. As I straightened to apologise and give him back his things, I noticed three, tiny scratch marks on his cheek.

"Where'd you get those marks?" I asked before thinking. The kid looked at me, puzzled.

"Um… I think my cat scratched me… thanks for helping me… bye now…" And with that, the kid pushed passed me and ran off. I watched his progress, putting it down mentally. Then, when he had a good start, I began to trail him, following him all the way to his home. I watched as he slipped through the front door of the large two-storey house, and silently congratulated myself.

Seemed like I finally had a bit of luck.

So, the next two nights, I found myself curled up in a nearby tree, watching his house. Sometimes I could see him through the curtains – I could see him laughing and playing with his little sister, giving his mum hugs and teasing his dad, feeding his dog scraps under the table, rolling a ball of twine around for his cat…

It was pretty hard to keep myself awake for so long. It was only the bitter cold of the night that kept me up, as the wind blew and found my skin through the little holes of my jumper and pants. I think I almost fell out of the tree at one stage.

And then it happened. It was so quick that I almost missed it – I had been busy pinching myself trying to keep awake, when I heard a piercing scream come from the boy's house.

Immediately, I was alert, jumping down from the tree and running towards the house. I could see the light in his room on – there were several shadows moving around, one coming closer and closer to the window…

There was a sudden shattering sound as a shower of glass fell down around my head. I raised my hands to protect myself, then felt something hard and heavy fall down onto me, pushing me to the ground and knocking all the air from my lungs. I peered through my hands in time to see a pair of blood red eyes. I gave a yell, and the thing on top of me hissed, leaping to its feet and sprinting off.

Quickly, I rolled over, wincing as glass pricked my skin, and got to my feet. Back upstairs, I could hear the boy sobbing, along with his mother and little sister – good. He was all right.

I turned back in the direction the vampire had gone, and frowned as I saw another shadow running along the rooftops. Shaking my head, I began sprinting after them, thanking my not-so-lucky stars for my soccer training days.

Like I said, my stars weren't so lucky. In mere minutes, I found myself lost and out of breath. I wasn't in any familiar territory – it was a dark, dank alleyway, a brick wall barely visible beyond the rubbish and graffiti that collected around in. Panting, I doubled over, bracing myself on my knees.

"Dammit!" I cried loudly, straightening and pulling my hands behind my head – as soon as I did, though, a pair of powerful hands shot out behind me, one grabbing me around the neck, the other grabbing my arms, holding me in a strong headlock. I let out a gurgle yell, struggling, trying to kick the person behind me.

"Why are you following me?" The person hissed, his breath burning my skin. I didn't answer – not that I was able to. The hand, claw, whatever it was, around my neck was much too tight. Already I could feel my lungs screaming for air.

"Drop the kid," another voice, this one cool, calculated, growled from behind both of us. There was a clicking sound, like something falling in place. "Or I put this arrow through your chest right here, right now."

"You!" The thing behind me snarled.

"Yeah, me. You going to do what I say, or do you want to die, vamp-boy?" I noticed that there was something strange about the other person's accent – it _definitely_ wasn't Irish, Scottish, or even British.

The thing – _vampire_ – snarled again, and shoved me into the wall. I turned around in time to see it lash out with a kick to the person behind it, then leap for the brick wall.

There was a clicking sound, and then a whirling, like an arrow being fired, and the vampire let out a scream of pain. He clutched his shoulder tight, sending the person and me a glare over his shoulder, then disappeared over the wall.

The person cursed, running up to the brick wall, slinging a gun-shaped object over their shoulder. They paused, and glanced back over their shoulder at me. Since it was dark, I could only see a shadow.

"You okay, kid?"

I nodded grimly.

They nodded back. And then they began climbing the wall, almost as easily as the vampire, but still slower. When they reached the top, they turned around again, letting a shaft of moonlight light part of their face – a hood covered the rest.

I felt my jaw drop.

She winked.

"Leave the vamp hunting to the professionals, kid." The vampire hunter said, and then she disappeared, jumping down over the wall.

It was only a few minutes later, when the blearing sirens and lights of police cars filled the alleyway, did I come out of my stunned stupor. Or then again, maybe it was when the police were forcing my hands behind my back and shoving me into their cars when I really woke up.


	4. Three

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**A.N** Oh, I forgot to say this:

Steve Leopard and all related characters are © Darren Shan.

Mwuaha! Thanks for reading! .

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**'The Latest Scar Murder Foiled!**

Boy's Little Sister Saviour The Day!

Last night, at approximately 1:30pm, Kenny Brookes was attacked by our city's 'local' serial murderer, only to be saved by his little sister's screams. Her screaming alerted her parents, who rushed into the room in time to see the killer jump out the window and sprint away. They then notified the police, who were at the scene almost immediately.

The authorities have a man in custody and are currently interrogating him over the matter. No one was available –'

I glared down at the newspaper article in front of me. Then I shoved it in the nearest bin, giving the bin a kick for good measure, making several mothers around me gasp and quickly pull their children far away, sending me terrified looks. I pulled a face at their retreating backs. I think I distinctly heard one of them say something like 'Teenagers are getting wilder every year…'

Yes, I was in scaring-little-children mood. Who wouldn't, after having spent six hours in a cold police station answering the same questions over and over again?

"Why were you in the area at the time?"

"I was taking a walk."

"Why did you chase after the man?"

"I just wanted to help."

"Did you see his face?"

"No."

"Did you hear him speak at all?"

"No."

"From the samples we have from your jumper, you had two people's blood on yourself – yours and someone else's. Who was this other person?"

By this time I was really getting pissed off: "My girlfriend. Do you want to know where that blood came from, too?"

"Er… no, that won't be necessary…"

And so, when they were finally convinced I had nothing to do with the attempted murder, they released me, dropping me off at the motel I was staying.

"Stay out of trouble, kid," the driver said as he drove off. I muttered something rude under my breath and went to have a shower, buy a newspaper, and get some lunch.

Shower, check, newspaper, check, lunch – walking to now.

Feeling I needed to treat myself, I walked to the closest fast food store I could find and quickly stood in line. Around me, people chatted on about their normal, average lives – a mum shouting at her two kids to behave, a girl and a guy necking at another table, a group of businessmen on a break. Up ahead, I could hear the woman in front of me talking with the guy behind the counter.

"Rough night again, Perri? You look like crap," he said. She laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." She answered. My ears perked, and I frowned, inspecting the back of the woman's head. Her hair was short and choppy, spiked every-which-way and dyed black, blue and grey, and she wore a black hooded jacket. The guy handed her a paper bag.

"There you go, that's one quarter-pounder, large chips, and large coke – anything else? Apple pie, maybe? Or maybe three?"

"Ah, shut it, Jay, you know I'm on a diet," she laughed, turning around and walking passed me. I watched her walk off, frowning. There was something, I didn't know what, but there was something about her that was familiar…

Then it hit me.

It was her accent. It wasn't European – the words were drawn out, making everything seem real slow and laid back…

"Uh, sir? You going to order now?" Jay, the server behind me asked, but I didn't notice. The woman had just stepped outside, and was turning down the street.

"Sir?"

"I'll come back later!" I called, and swept out of the store, almost knocking a few kids over in my rush to get to the door. I burst outside, and set off at a run after her. I could just see her blue-black-silver head bobbing along among the crowded pathway, crossing a street several hundred metres ahead.

I pushed through the crowd, slowly progressing toward her, my eyes never leaving that multi-coloured head of hair. At one point, I saw her turn her head slightly to the left, giving me a view of the light side of her face – a long, intricate black tattoo was there, starting as what looked like a bird at her temple and sprouting down her cheek and up onto her forehead. As soon as I saw it, I knew.

It was her. The hunter from last night.

After what seemed like ages, she turned a corner, and the crowd began to thin away to nothing. I quickly turned the corner too – but there was nothing but a long, empty street, houses lining the sides. I cursed, then shook my head, and began walking down. Beside me was the large brick wall of the shop that had been on the corner. It had little niches – niches that people could hide in. Too bad I only realised that _after_ the hand shot out and grabbed my around the collar of my shirt.

"You're following me."

Before I could answer, she had stepped out of her little hiding spot and pushed me against the wall with one hand, making my head crack painfully against the brick. I grabbed at her hand, trying to pull it away, but for someone of her size – several inches short than me – she had a surprising amount of strength. Her unremarkable kohl-outlined grey eyes narrowed, and she leaned closer. Her face was unusual – not pretty, yet not ugly, either. A small, thin nose, tanned skin, small but pouted red lips all combined to make an… interesting face.

"I don't like being followed."

She leaned closer still, her eyes narrowing further as her hand around my neck tightened. I gasped for air. She was so close that I could see the faint freckles splattered across her nose.

"You're-you're the hunter from last night!" I managed to gasp. She frowned, loosening her grip slightly. I saw a flash of realisation in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"And if I am?"

"Teach me!"

She dropped her hand, taking a step back. I spluttered, and massaged my neck – hey, your neck would be sore too, if two people with very strong grips had taken it upon themselves to crush it.

"So that's what you were trying to do last night."

I nodded numbly. She smirked.

"Yeah, well, that was the most pathetic performance I've seen in a long time, kid," she said, and turned away.

"Hey, wait!" I called, taking a step after her. She kept walking.

"You'll only slow me down, kid. You haven't got it in you to hunt the vamps."

I stood there, glowering at her retreating back, my fists clenching and unclenching along with my jaw.

"What does it take?" I called after her. She paused, turning her head slightly. "What does it take to make you teach me?"

The hunter turned around, still smirking.

"You Irish boys sure are persistent, aren't you?" I glared at her, and she shrugged, dropping her paper bag onto the ground. "All right. If you can beat me in a fight, I'll take you on as an… assistant, I guess."

I nodded, bunching my hand into a fist. Then I launched myself at her, throwing my fist toward her jaw. I didn't see what she did – it was a slight step to the side, one hand lightly pushing my hand away while bringing her opposite knee up to my stomach. Winded, I gasped, doubling over in pain. She stepped away, shaking her head.

"You've got the power, but vamps can take even the hardest punch. You need to be faster, kid," she told me lightly. Glaring through my hair, which had fallen from its ponytail, I straightened slowly and began to circle her. She watched me, plainly bored.

I jumped at her again, this time aiming at her stomach. She blocked somehow, stepping out, and pulled my arm sharply behind my back.

"Too slow, kid." She said softly next to my ear. Then she planted her foot into my back and sent me sprawling into the ground. Tsking, she stepped up behind me – that's when I lashed out with my feet, sweeping her legs from beneath her. She fell and I jumped up and placed my foot on her throat. She rose an eyebrow.

"Better."

 Then she reached up and grabbed my foot, twisting it so that my body followed. Losing my balance, I slipt and fell down, spluttering. She stood back up again and rolled me over with her foot, smirking.

"You're okay, I'll give you that much. But still, you're not good enough. You'd be dead if I were a vamp." With that, she turned around, picked up her paper bag, and began walking away again. Spitting onto the ground, I stood back up, wincing.

"Wait!" I called after her. She turned around, walking backwards.

"What now?" She called back.

"What's your name?"

She stopped, and grinned.

"It's Perri. Peregrine Walters. You?"

"Steve Leopard. I mean Leonard."

Her grin spread further.

"We both have animal names, then. Hooroo." She turned around and began walking again.

"Hey, where are you from?" I called out one last time.

"Australia!" She called over her shoulder – and then she was gone.

I sighed, and leaned against the wall behind me. So. I had an Australian vampire hunter named after a bird to track down – and she wouldn't take me on unless I could beat her in a fight.

Boy. My stars sure were lucky.


	5. Four

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A.N Honestly, I'm sorry Perri's Australian – I couldn't help myself! Call it patriotic pride XD 

Anyhow, thanksya for reading! .

Oh, yeah, and sorry this chapter is so crap. I had writer's block. .

Ah, and also, after much deliberation, I've decided that yes, Annie Shan will be appearing again. Not anytime soon, though. Possibly in a few chapters time. She will play a somewhat big part in my story. I have also decided that I will try my best to stick to the books as much as I can up to book 8 – after that, though, the story is all mine, and I shall turn it slightly AU. .

And one more thing: Thankyou, crazy-beast-boy! I feel spekal now!

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By the time I got back to the fast food store, most of the people had left, it being just after four in the afternoon. The guy behind the counter was still there, leaning on a mop and talking to one of his co-workers. I heard his bark of laughter as soon as I stepped back into the store and made my way immediately to the counter.

"Hey, you, er… Jay," I called, reading his name off of his nametag. His eyebrows shot into his spiked, coloured hairline, and he walked over.

"Oh, so you _did_ come back," he said, and grinned. "So, what did you want?"

"That woman, you know – Perri – do you know her well?"

Jay blinked at the question.

"Yeah, I guess, I've known her for a while now…"

"Do, do you know where she lives, or any of her hangouts, or anything?"

"Heh, she got you too, eh?" Jay asked with a knowing grin and wink. I didn't know how to answer, so I just stood there, looking intent. He sighed and shrugged, running a hand over that gelled hair of his. "I met her at this nightclub a couple of weeks ago. She goes there practically every night."

"Nightclub? Where is it? What's it called?"

"It's the Shinkei, on the corner of Thursday and Firs – hey, wait, aren't you gonna order?"

"No, I've got a club to get to!"

"But – it's over eighteens only!"

I paused, one hand on the door, and peered at the guy, giving him a good look over. He looked like he was the same age as me – possibly even younger.

"How'd you get in there then?"

Jay seemed taken aback by the question, and quite tongue-tied. I didn't allow him to answer, though – I was already out the door and halfway up the street by the time he figured out what he was going to say. I had more important things than listening to how a guy got into a nightclub.

I had a vampire hunter to catch.

----

I found the club about three hours later. It took me so long because it was on the other side of town and I had to walk all the way over there – that is, _after_ I found out where it was. That part alone took up more time than it should have.

Luckily, there was a small restaurant on the opposite side of the street, facing the cream and red front of the club, so I set myself up onto a table outside, so I could easily get up and away when I had to. I ended up ordering something, though – after all, I hadn't eaten since the night before. I quickly shoved the food into my gob, ordered a drink, then settled back to wait.

I lost track of how long I was sitting there waiting for. People began walking into the club, and I could distantly hear the faint _thump thump thump_ of heavy music playing. I got myself another drink, and hugged my jumper closer, burying myself in its warmth. God, I hated the cold.

 I could hear the waiters inside begin cleaning up. A few of them were sending me dirty looks – probably because I was the only customer left, and looked like I had no intentions of leaving anytime soon. I was just beginning of thinking that I should probably leave when a flash of blue and silver caught my eye opposite me – a short woman, shrugging a black leather jacket over her low-cut blue top, came walking out of the club, laughing. She turned around and waved to someone inside, shouting a farewell – then turned and walked down the street.

Quickly, I stood up, throwing a few notes onto the table, and began walking quickly after her. She chose a quiet way to walk – there was no one else around in a few minutes time, just her and me. I tried to keep my footsteps as quiet as possible, matching her steps with my own. It wasn't enough, though.

It wasn't long until she stopped walking, not turning around.

"I thought I told you I don't like being followed, kid," she growled. I stood my ground, keeping my hands by my side, muscles tensing as they readied for action.

"One more chance," I told her. "Just give me one more chance."

Perri turned around slowly, a slight smile visible on her face in the semi-darkness. The tattoo on the left side of her face twitched slightly.

"I have to hand it to you, kiddo – you definitely don't give up, do you?"

I nodded. And then I leapt forward, throwing another punch aimed at her face. She smirked, and stepped easily out of the way – but this time I was ready. I put my foot down, stopping my movement, and hurled myself to the side, ramming her into the wall with my shoulder. She hit the wall with a loud 'Oof!', and slumped over, breathing heavily. I pushed my shoulder deeper into her solar plexus.

"So, are you going to teach me or not?" I asked. She looked up slightly, a small, ragged smile on her face.

"How bout not?"

Perri grabbed my arm with one hand and punched me in the nose with the other. As I stumbled back, clutching at my throbbing nose with my free hand, she pulled the other hard back, holding my the same way the police had the night before, and slammed me face first into the wall. I tasted blood in my mouth.

"I told you I'd take you on _only_ if you could beat me. So far, you haven't. G'night, Steve."

She took a step back and began walking off again as I slumped down onto the ground, breathing raggedly. She had disappeared into the shadows by the time I was able to stand back up again. I cursed loudly.

"Actually," a voice said – I jumped, looking into the direction the hunter had disappeared into – she had come back again. "I'll give you one last chance, kid. I wasn't able to keep up with the vamp last night – he's still out there, alive and kicking. If you get to him and kill him before I do – I'll take you." Perri took a step back, but stopped again, a small grin on her face. "And this time, take a weapon. And try not to get arrested."

Then, for the fourth time that day, she disappeared from view, leaving me leaning against the wall, nose and lip bleeding freely.

One more chance. She had given me one last chance.  

I wasn't going to fail this time. After all, I had a vow to fulfil.


	6. Five

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A.N Sorry for it being so short. I kinda ran out of inspiration halfway through – and I decided it was better to have a cliffy anyway. . And since this is so short, it'll mean I'll put the next one up quicker! (Yes, the next chapter is done. .) 

----

"Mate – you look like complete and utter shite!" A voice called from the common room as I walked passed the open door. "What, you get mixed up with some drunks?"

"Actually, it was a girl," I muttered angrily. They must have heard, because howls of laughter followed me down the hall as I walked back towards my room. Muttering cusses under my breath, I slammed my door shut behind me and stalked into the bathroom, switching on the light bulb. It flickered a few times, then finally lit, lighting the cramped lime room. I winced when I saw my face in the mirror. They were right – I did look like crap.

Wetting some toilet paper under the tap, I quickly wiped away most of the blood on my face, wincing as the water stung the cut on my lip. Lovely. I would have a nice, large lip the next day. When I was as clean as I could get, I stripped and jumped into the shower-cross-bath, turning the taps so that hot water came pouring out over me. Bloodied water ran down the drain.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spied the blue bottle sitting on the little green sink. My eyes narrowed, my bad mood becoming worse. Ever since that damned spider bite, I'd had to wear that horrible-smelling stuff, to stop myself from getting sick and dying.

All because of Shan. He had made the spider attack me. I don't know the reasons for him getting Hurston to cure me, but the fact still remains:

He tried to kill me. He took my place. He betrayed me.

I barely restrained myself from breaking the tiles in front of me in rage.

----

If I was to get to the vampire before Peregrine Walters did, I had to start looking straight away. Wrapping myself up as warmly as I could and smelling of medicine, I pulled out all the information I had ever gathered on the 'Scar Murders', and set it out on the bed in front of me. I paused, then went searching through the bedside drawer. It was seconds later when I found what I wanted: a map of the city.

Unfolding it, I pulled out my red marker, and began crossing off where all the murders had taken place. In no time, I had six crosses, and one circle marked onto the page.

Putting my marker down, I sat back and glared down at the map. There was no pattern to the murders – they were pretty much all over the place. Most were in the same area where Kenny Brookes lived, but the remaining few were scattered across the city.

Frowning, I leaned forward and began to trace the path that I had run the night before when following the vampire. I did it as best I could from memory, trying to visualise the exact way I had taken. Finishing that, I sat back again, tapping the marker on my temple as I tried to think.

The path was roughly halfway through the majority of the murders, like a line-of-best-fit from science experiment days. It was very odd.

I scanned the map for any clues, looking around the area carefully and trying to dredge up even more info from my hundreds of vampire books. Dark, secluded places, like sewers and abandoned buildings – that sounded about right. Something easily accessible by them yet not by others – somewhere where people looking for them could be easily lost…

And then I saw it. And immediately it clicked.

I knew where the vampire was hiding.

How could it have been so easy?


	7. Six

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A.N Hmmm. I think I shall put up the rating. After all, Steve's more of an adult than Darren is, so his writing style and the things that happen to him will be more adult too. Oh goody. . 

Thanks for reading again! Mwuahaha!

**----**

Stake-outs. Ironic word, but still, I hated them. You had to sit for hours on end in the same position, not even able to walk off and take a piss in case you missed something important. You were stuck there, in the freezing cold night, watching and waiting for someone or something that may not even appear. It was handy if you had friends who you could change shifts with.

Sadly, being the lone wolf that I was, I had to sit in the same cramped little alcove for the whole time, shivering as I futilely attempted to keep warm and watch the entrance to the old, derelict church on the street opposite. Not to mention stay awake the whole time.

This time, I was smart – I had bought myself a thermos and filled it up with as much coffee as I could. Caffeine works wonders, even on a mind that hadn't had any sleep for the last three days. Yes, it was true: the last time I had slept was the day before the vampire attack on Kenny Brookes. Trust me, you _never_ want to do that.

I was in an old, abandoned apartment, sitting in a boarded-up window on the second floor and looking at the building opposite – a church, also boarded-up. It was in this little church in this dirty, forgotten street that I believed the vampire had decided to hole himself up in. Now, all I had to do was sit and see if my assumptions were correct. That is, if the bloody thing decided to show up.

To pass the time, I had found myself a random piece of wood and began carving away at it with my pocketknife, making something I hadn't made since woodworks class – a stake. After all, the hunter _had_ said to bring a weapon of some sort, and I figured the little knife I bought myself a few years ago wouldn't do any real damage.

I was halfway finished when a flash of movement caught my attention. Excited, I looked up – only to see that a cat had jumped up onto a cardboard box outside. Grumbling, I went back to my stake, trying not to feel too disappointed.

As soon as I finished the stake, a loud clattering brought my head snapping up – but again, it was nothing. Just that stupid cat again, falling out of some rubbish bins. I sat back again, growling and mentally coming up with ways of catching that animal and skinning it alive.

It was just as I was about to wonder what would happen if the vampire had in actual fact decided to take this apartment as his home when I heard a rough bout of coughing. Springing from my ledge as quietly as I could, I peered out through the boarded windows. Down below, the shadow of a man stood, coughing into his hand. He paused, as if in pain, bringing his hand to his other shoulder. Then he glanced around and climbed into the church. I watched for several more minutes, in case he walked back up again – but he didn't.

Grinning, I stood up and shook off all the wood shavings I had collected. Then I sat back down on my little ledge, tried to make myself as comfortable as possible, and went to sleep.

I had my vampire. It could only be him – after all, Perri _had_ shot him in the shoulder those few nights ago.

I woke again, several hours later, just after sunrise. It only took me a few minutes to pack my things into my backpack and leave my building. The next thing I knew, I was standing outside the church, stake in hand, hoping my lucky stars were still lucky.

I stepped through the door - okay, well, 'step' is a relative term, it was more like 'squeezed in through the old, splintered wooden door trying my hardest not to get stabbed by splinters or make a sound at all'. Meh. Either way, I got inside.

The interior was mostly dark, lit only by a thin shaft of light pouring in through one of the large, dirty windows to the side of the room. It, and the rest of the windows around the chapel, was covered in a heavy moth-eaten curtain, leaving the rest of the room in darkness. The few remaining pews in the room were all overturned and broken. At the front was an altar, a statue of some sort standing over it and rows of candles before it. One candle was lit.

I took one cautious step forward, looking around alertly. Another step. My foot crunched slightly over what seemed like broken glass. I cringed, pausing, not breathing, waiting for the vampire to come jumping out at me…

But nothing stirred.

Breathing a slight sigh of relief, I stepped forward again, passed the first broken pew.

Another step. Then another step.

And then I saw him.

Behind the statue, lying on the altar, was the vampire, one fist lying on his chest, the other by his side. His chest rose and fell steadily, looking like he was sleeping peacefully.

As quietly and as quickly as I could, I picked my way up to the altar, careful not to trip over anything. When I reached him, I noticed there was something very… strange about him.

Even in the darkness, I could tell there was something different about his skin. It wasn't pale, it wasn't dark, it was as if it were a completely different colour all together, almost purple in colour. His nails were long and stained blood-red, his dark clothes dirty and splattered with blood, his strangely coloured hair longer and messier than mine – something I never would have thought possible. He held something in his clenched fist, but I couldn't tell what it was.

I don't know how long I spent looking down at the vampire's sleeping face. It hit me, then, just how young he looked. He looked like just another teenaged boy, albeit the purple skin. He looked so calm, so peaceful, that you could never have guessed he were a blood-thirsty monster…

Shaking my head, I reminded myself who this person was – he was just like Shan, most likely betraying his friends, hurting his family, all in exchange for some measly power. He was a monster, a dirty, child-killing monster, who deserved every imaginable death there was.

I took a step closer so that I was directly above him, and poised my stake just above the region his heart should have been in – hopefully, all those times I spent staring at the anatomy in science classes should have helped somewhat. I paused for a second, closing my eyes, as if to focus. And then, with as much force as I could muster, I drove the sharpened tip down, thrusting it through skin and muscle until it hit the heart.

The next few seconds were a blur of crimson red. I stumbled back as blood sprayed everywhere, all over me and the altar. The vampire sprang upright, a long, terrible scream of pain bursting from his throat, his hands clawing at the air. He rolled off the stone, and I took another hurried step back, but not enough – he fell onto my legs, causing me to fall flat on my back, winding me. My bag dug deep into my back. I could feel his hands clinging to me, as he weakly climbed/crawled forward. Terrified, I tried to scramble back, but his weight was too heavy. His hands clutched at my jumper, and he brought his blood-stained face close to mine. Tears streamed down his face. His scream had wound off, and he was reduced to loud, pain-filled sobs.

"I-I-I'm sorry," he was saying, over and over again. "Te..tell them, I-I-I'm sorry…"

I could feel his heavy, sticky blood sticking to my jumper, soaking through it, soaking through my two layers of shirts. I could smell the hot, metallic smell. All I could hear were his sobs and apologies, over and over again.

And then it stopped. His voice became softer and softer until there was nothing as all, and he slumped down on top of me, still, quiet – dead. Whatever he had clenched in his hand fell to the ground, and unconsciously, I picked it up. It was a crucifix on a fine chain.

I don't know how long I sat there for, breathing heavily and staring at the dead body lying on top of me. My mind wouldn't register the fact that I had just killed somebody.

Close by, someone began to clap – slowly, deliberately. I turned my head slightly to see Peregrine Walters step out of the shadows, wearing a tight black outfit of some sort, the tattoo on the side of her face visible in the light from the single shaft of light. She was grinning.

"Nicely done, mate. I guess this means you're my apprentice now," she said, stepping forward and pulling me to my feet. I didn't see it, but I heard a thump as the body of the vampire hit the ground. Perri left me swaying on my feet and she stepped forward and rolled the body over with her boot.

"How did you –" I began, but she flashed me a grin over her shoulder.

"What, get here? Please. I knew where this guy was hiding out. I was just giving you a chance, that's all." She stopped, going back to her examination of the vampire.

"Hmm. Yep. You did this vampaneze nicely, all right," she said with a nod. I blinked, frowning at her back.

"Vampaneze?"

She turned slowly, an amused smile on her face.

"What, you don't know about the vampaneze? Ah, don't worry about it – most people who have the arrogance to call themselves hunters don't know about them." She paused, looking me up and down. "Huh. Looks like I've got a lot to teach you." Perri wrinkled her nose, and I swayed again, feeling a wave of dizziness come over me. My stomach was rolling, as if I had just stepped off a particularly wild roller coaster. "But first, you're going to have a shower. Tell me, Steve – when was the last time you slept?"

But I didn't get a chance to tell her – I was too busy meeting the cold stone floor, which had decided it wanted to knock me unconscious.


	8. Seven

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A.N Meh, another short chapter. I'm sorry. It's slow, too. . 

And I hope I haven't made Perri too Mary-Sue-ish. I tried, honestly, I did. T.T

Emikae: Ehhh… that theory would work if it were summer where I'm from. Sadly, it's winter here – but still, it's only about a week till my school holidays! Sure, they only go for two weeks, but that does mean I have more time to write longer things! .

Die Kikyo Die: I'll try my best to make the next chapter longer! Honest! And about Perri – hmmm…. .

Yeah, I'll shut up now…

----

After spending just one week with Peregrine Walters, I knew my life would never be the same again.

Two days after killing the vampire – no, _vampaneze__ –_ I woke up to find out she had somehow managed to drag me all the way back to her hotel room. She had also managed to find out what hotel _I_ had been staying in. To my discomfort, I saw that she had taken it upon herself to unclothe me before putting me into the room's only bed. Well, only my shirt and jumper. Thankfully, she decided that my pants _needed_ to be left on.

Either way, Perri had gone off to my motel, got my things and checked out for me. I don't know how she did it though. When I asked, she just winked and said that she had connections.

Over the next few days, I got to know her better. She was twenty-six years old, a fact she unashamedly stated when I asked. She grew up in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. At the age of nine she signed up for karate classes, having always loved the Asian action movies. She received her black belt a month before her fifteenth birthday. Two years later, after she had received her first dan, she moved out of the state with her family, so had to drop karate. Instead, she took up hapkido. It was in her eighteenth year, though, when something happened. She wouldn't tell me what happened, and quite frankly, I was too afraid to ask. When she got to this part of her story she stood up and kicked the nearest hard object she could find.

Anyway, something happened to her, revealing to her the world of the night. She left Australia, and took to travelling the world – hunting and killing any vampaneze she came across. It was only in the last few years when Perri decided to head towards the British Isles. According to her, the 'Motherland' seemed to have a higher rate of vampiric activity than anywhere in the world.

Perri also told me that there were two types of vampires – the normal vampires and the vampaneze. As she put it, the vampires were the 'good guys' – honourable, honest, loyal, they only drank small portions of blood from their victims. The vampaneze, on the other hand – the vampires' purple-skinned, red-eyed blood-cousins – were the 'bad guys'. They had no leaders, and their customs and beliefs were stricter than those of the vampires. And they drained their victims completely, leaving behind empty husks. She told me that the vampaneze I had killed was only a young one, and a considerably mad one at that.

The whole time she was talking, I found myself staring at the tattoo on her face. It started at the temple, shaped like a powerful bird in flight. Where the tail ended, it spread out, flowering and curving every-which-way, the ends budding with little flowers. It covered most of the side of her face – from the side of her forehead, right down along her cheek, till it finished at her jaw.

Noticing me watching it, she grinned.

"Like it? Took the guy ages to do. My head was killing for _ages_. Trust me, you _never_ want to get a tat on your face!"

She forced me to tell her my story then, but I refused. All I told her was that I swore an oath to kill someone. And that one day, no matter what, I would fulfil that oath. She was frowning as I told her this, but made no comment.

Overall, Perri was a very hard person to figure. At time she was happy, so happy she seemed bursting at the seams with her joy, and for no given reason, either. Then, suddenly she would become moody and snappy, or sometimes would just sit in the window ledge and stare outside all day, pretty much unable to move.

I vaguely remember some project I did back in high school. I can't remember exactly what it was though. I think it had something to do with depression. Anyway, one form of depression was called bipolar disorder – something where the person would suffer from extreme mood swings. One minute, happily singing along, and then BAM, weeping and crying in the corner, then BAM again, back to singing.

I guess, whatever it was that happened to her all those years ago had left her seriously depressed. And, like me, had driven her to get her revenge.

A week had passed, and we were still in the City of the Scar Murders. She had finally decided to take me out of the little hotel room and give me a walk, and it was then, as we were walking along some boulevards filled with shops and caf's, I asked her a question.

"If I killed the vampaneze, what are we still doing here?"

Perri didn't pause from her walking. She seemed intent on getting somewhere, so I almost had to struggle to keep up with her.

"We're still here just to make sure that there wasn't more than one vamp here," she said simply, and continued walking. I shrugged. I guess it figured.

Five minutes later, she finally stopped in front of a store, putting her hands on her hips and turning to face me, a scowl on her face.

"Not so, actually, I lie." She growled. I blinked, resisting the urge to scratch my head in confusion. Then suddenly her face broke into a huge grin. "This town has some of the best clothing stores in the world, and quite frankly, I refuse to have my assistant look like a total and utter dag! Now, in you go! Get in those change rooms and undressed before I get there with some _proper _clothes, or I'll be forced to rip those rags of yours off myself!"

Terrified of the little woman before me, I scampered into the shop to do what I was told.

Life had taking an interesting turn. Unluckily for me, though, that turn involved a depressed Australian shrimp with a nasty bite and an even nastier punch.


	9. Eight

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A.N  Hmm… I don't know if 3 pages is classified as longer… but here it is! . 

ScarletFlame: Yes, Aussie publishers suck VERILY! .

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Living with Peregrine Walters was actually a hell of a lot harder than it seemed. I said before she had her ups and downs – but as those first few months with her went on, I found out she not only had ups and downs, but twists and turns and lefts and rights and every other direction imaginable. She was like a particularly nasty algebraic equation – one minute, you thought you had her figured out, the next, she had gone off and become something even more complex. It was, actually, quite annoying.

In the beginning we moved around a lot, doing odd jobs here and there to keep our wallets full of money, but never settling down. I liked it at first. We were always on the move. I could have almost forgotten all about my oath during that time.

But then, one day, when we arrived at another town, she set her foot down and firmly told me:

"Right then. Tomorrow, my young apprentice, we shall start your training. Now get some sleep. It will be the last you'll get for quite some time."

Did I mention Perri had an obsession with Star Wars? And that she could do a quite convincing Darth Sidius impersonation? Well, now you know. It was just one of her many annoying habits.

Anyway, the next day, I woke to her grinning face leaning over mine, that tattoo winking as usual.

"Morning!" She boomed, making me spring from my bed. Her cat-like grin just spread further as she grabbed me by the back of my shirt and dragged me towards the shower. "I want you in and out of that shower in under two minutes, got that?"

I didn't need to be told twice.

One minute and forty-nine seconds later, I came shuffling out of the shower, a towel wrapped around my midriff, hair (which was now shorter, styled and somewhat cleaner, thanks to Perri) sopping wet, and shivering madly. Perri, who had been leaning on the doorway, raised an eyebrow at my entrance.

"R-r-r-ran out-t-ta h-h-h-ot w-w-w-ater," I stuttered as an explanation. She just shook her head and waited in the adjoining room for me to get dressed.

Not long after, she had dragged me from the warm hotel to some kind of open park out in the freezing cold morning. All the way there my teeth wouldn't stop chattering, despite my long scarf, new gloves, and long coat – all courtesy of Perri, of course. She seemed determined to make me at least look the part of vampire hunter.

"It's freezing out here!" I cried, watching my warm breath billowing in a cloud of steam in front of my face. She just grinned that annoying grin at me.

"Don't worry. Once I'm done, kiddo, you'll feel like you're in the middle of bushfire season back where I came from," she told me.

Well, she was partly right. The first thing she made me do was stretch and do a long jog around the park. She ran along beside me the whole time, snapping at me to keep a steady pace and never falter. Perri didn't tell me when to stop – I just kept running round and round, until finally I collapsed, my lungs screaming for air, my legs as heavy as logs. She came to a halt beside me, breathing heavily herself – but no where near as bad as me.

"Well, your fitness level _definitely _has to be worked on," she mused, tutting to herself. I glared up at her through my hair, too tired to make a comeback. She shrugged. "Just get your breath back. Then we'll get on with it."

She made me do push-ups next. When my arms collapsed, unable to take anymore, she got me to lie on my back and do sit-ups. No, not normal sit-ups – crunches, twists, you name it, she made me do it. When my stomach decided to cramp up, she got me to do leg-raises. Followed by chin-ups. Lunges. Swallows. Tricep dips. Name a muscle group, she had an exercise for it. She left nothing untouched. Okay, well some things were saved. I mean, I don't think there _are_ any actual workouts for your ears. You never know, though.

When every part of my body was sufficiently dead, Perri told me to stay where I was for a while, and disappeared off. Not that I could have moved anywhere. My legs had decided they didn't want me to stand up. All I could do was lie on the ground, staring up at the blue sky. Even my mind was completely blank. I had trouble remembering why I was putting myself through all this torture. And then, of course, the palm of my left hand began to tingle, and I remembered _exactly_ what I was doing.

"Oi, time to wake up, padawan," Perri – for it could only have been Perri – said as she nudged me with her shoe. I groaned, blinking against the glare of the sun as I looked up at her. I could just make out the savage grin on her face.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I growled. That grin of hers just spread even further.

"Why yes. Yes I am. Are you done resting yet?"

"Please, no more!" I groaned. She just rolled her eyes, and I felt something land heavily onto my stomach.

"Eat up and have a drink," she called over her shoulder as she began walking off. "After that, we start the hard stuff."

I groaned again, sitting up and peered into the paper bag she had left behind. Inside was a doughnut and a bottle of water. I rose an eyebrow.

"A doughnut?"

"It's full of sugar. Sugar equals instant energy. Eat it all up, it's the last one you'll eat for a looooong time, kiddo," she called from her spot under the trees, some way off. I scowled and scoffed the food down, and emptied the bottle in two gulps. Once done, I shakily stood up. She dusted off her behind and made her way back towards me. Again, she was smiling slyly.

"What the hell are you thinking about now?" I moaned. She laughed.

"Now, I get to teach you how to do a proper karate chop."

I couldn't help but groan one more time. My body was already protesting, but that didn't stop her.

Perri began to teach me how to fight.

And so it was, every five days for the next few months. Perri would wake me up early in the morning and take me on a jog, until I could run as far as her without collapsing. That was followed by the workout. Then followed by her karate lesson. I had two days break, where I could sleep and rejuvenate my body. Somehow, she managed to train me just to the right point – I would be in pain the first day, but the next day I would be able to bounce right out of bed without feeling too much strain.

Living with her was getting increasingly annoying as well. One time I accidentally walked into the bathroom while she was in there. She had just been stepping out of the shower, and was reaching for the towel, when I blundered in. I kind of just stared, blinking dumbly. She calmly raised an eyebrow, standing straight.

"What, the first time you've seen a naked woman?" She asked calmly. I must have turned bright red, my face felt so hot. I muttered my apologies, and quickly ran from the room. I couldn't look her in the eye for the rest of the day – yet, somehow, she still managed to smile whenever she looked at me.

The next day, just as I had finished my shower, she came walking in. I froze. So did she. Then, coughing into her hand, she backed out of the room. That first time, I knew it was payback.

She did the same thing the next night. This time she apologised as she backed out, and was kind enough to avert her eyes. Two times now – I guess it was just bad luck.

The night after that, though, after one particularly hard training day which had left nothing pain-free, she came stumbling in once again. This time, I knew it was no longer coincidence. Seeing my fuming face, she burst into laughter and once more backed out of the room.

By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, wearing my bedclothes, she was sitting in one of the lounge chairs, trying to stifle her laughter. I glared at her as she cleared her throat.

"Love the whole 'thin yet toned' physique thing you've got going on. Very attractive," she snorted.

I swore at her. Her eyes went round.

"'_Fork'_ me? How the hell can I _fork_ me?!" Perri cried, and began to laugh, harder than I had ever seen her laugh before. I began swearing at her so colourfully that even the foulest of sailors would have blushed. This just made her laugh even more. I whirled around and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind me.

It was only as I was walking away, her laughter stabbing my back like knives, did I realise she was laughing at my accent.

She came into the bedroom almost an hour later. I had been lying on my side in my bed in the dark, glaring at the wall opposite me. She didn't actually come into the room – just stood in the doorway. I could see she had her arms crossed, by the shape of her shadow.

"Hey, you know Steve, I'm just teasing you," she said softly. I didn't reply. "You're such easy bait…"

She trailed off. I waited for her to say more, or leave the room. And waited. And waited. Finally, she moved into the room and sat onto her bed, facing the wall opposite the one I was facing.

"It's just… you're like a little brother to me… I can't help it. You remind me so much of…" She paused, and I heard a sharp intake of breath. I turned my head slightly, just about to reply, but she had stood up and was walking out of the room.

"Goodnight, Steve."

And then she closed the door.

I was left to lie in the dark, feeling as confused as ever.

I sniffed and sneezed.

I wasn't just confused.

I was _very_ confused.


	10. Nine

The next day I woke not to my usual alarm – in other words, Perri's finger prodding me hard in the ribcage – but to a bout of uncontrollable coughs. By the time they subsided, my breathing was laboured, and my throat coarse. My head and vision were swimming dangerously, and I felt strangely hot and cold at the same time.

In other words, I felt like complete and utter shite. 

With a groan, I rolled over to look at the electronic clock on the bedside table. It read 8:26am. I blinked, rubbing my eyes, thinking that I had read it wrong – but when I looked again, it was still the same. I had been asleep for three hours longer than normal. And on training day too. Perri would want to have my head.

Propping myself up onto my elbow, I blearily squinted at Perri's bed. It was untouched – she hadn't gone to bed the night before.

I grumbled something under my breath and slowly dragged myself out of my bed. My head spun all the more, my vision becoming blurred. As soon as it cleared away, I shook my head slightly and stepped forward, only to have a curious shiver run down my spine. I grabbed the quilt off of my bed and wrapped myself in it, and shuffled towards the door. Outside, I could hear the television murmuring softly.

I pushed the door open slowly and peered out. On the floor in front of the TV was Perri, leaning against the low coffee table, legs splayed out in front of her. She still wore the jeans and button-down shirt she had been wearing the night before, and her eyes had a slight glazed look to them. Lying on the table next to her was an empty syringe or two – I had only a vague idea what they had been used for. There was also a coffee mug, half empty with the ice cold drink. Obviously, she had gone into one of her more depressed moods during the night.

As silently as I could, I shuffled into the room and sat down onto the couch, cocooned in my bed quilt like a caterpillar. She didn't respond to me – didn't even acknowledge my presence in the room. And that was how we remained for the next couple of minutes: neither of us saying a thing, just watching the news recap the local events of the past day. Nothing serious had happened – well, serious by our standards, in any case. There was the usual amount of shootings, murder trials and rapes, and one or two cat-up-the-tree type stories. But no blood-draining massacrers or serial murderers.

Finally, during an ad break, I broke the silence.

"Good morning, Perri."

"Morning…" She responded quietly, automatically, distantly. I shifted slightly in my seat, and sniffed. My nose was very runny. I pulled my quilt around me tighter.

 "What… what happened to training this morning?" I asked. There was no response at first. Then she turned around, leaning one arm onto the coffee table as she looked up at me. Her face was still void of emotion.

"Steve… how old are you?"

I blinked, surprised at the question. It took a while for me to answer, mainly because I had lost track of dates.

"Seventeen. Turning eighteen."

Wow. I had left my home a whole year and a half ago. Time flies so quickly.

Perri sighed, laying her head down onto her arm, looking up still.

"So young, and yet, already so consumed by the night," she said in an almost wistful tone. I only looked confused. She shook her head. "Don't worry about training today, Steve. You're taking the week off."

Obviously, I wasn't that great at hiding my confusion, because she actually explained her reasons for her decision – a very rare occurrence.

"Look, Steve – you're still just a kid. You don't want to die having never lived the best years of your life – just because of the vampire world. You need to start enjoying yourself more, to, to live life, and just forget about all your worries and stress, even for a short while," she paused, taking a breath, then continued. "Or – or you'll end up like me. A depressive wreck who relies on bloody drugs –" she cast a dark glare at the empty syringes "-to keep herself going. Believe me, it's not a fun life." She laughed bitterly. Still, I made no comment – my mind, for some reason, was acting very sluggishly this morning, taking its time processing what she was saying. Perri sighed again.

"Steve, what I'm saying is that this week, you're going to forget about hunting and fighting and killing and vampires and vampaneze. This week, all you're going to think about is being a normal teenaged guy."

I blinked. This tiny, automatic action was enough to snap Perri back into her normal self, for, the next instant, she had jumped to her feet, hands on hips, brow heavily furrowed.

"Think of it as training, dammit! Now get up, and go have a goddamned shower!" She stopped, then grinned savagely. "Or the movie I'm taking you to today will end up being one of those pathetic girly teenybopper comedy-romances!"

 Eyes widened, I quickly scurried back into the bedroom, discarded my quilt, grabbed some clean-looking clothes and ran into the shower – all in under twenty seconds. I guess Perri had that sort of effect on people. Well, on me, anyway.

By the time I stepped out of my boiling hot shower, I heard the faint thump of loud music playing from the lounge room. That was a good thing, normally – she usually played music to get herself feeling better. Which meant now, she would be feeling better.

Drying myself off with the soft towel, I paused as I had to sniff again. And again. My nose wouldn't stop running. With an irritated sigh, I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose until it was free of the gunk. I pulled the tissue away, and was just about to wrap it up and throw it away when the colour of my snot caught my eye. I blinked. Then I swore.

It was green. Green mucus meant infection. _Bad_ infection.

I had a cold.

Outside, Perri's loud music pumped on.

Sure, to most people, the statement 'I have a cold' wasn't much to worry about. Just pop a few pills and you're set, the cold's gone. But I was different. I had a much lower immunity system than normal. If I caught a cold, it would be like catching a case of very bad pneumonia. And by very bad, I meant 'no possible hope for recovery' bad.

"Hey, kiddo, you haven't fallen down the toilet, have you?" Perri called over the sound of her music. I frowned.

"Just because you do doesn't mean everyone else does, Perri!" I called back, to distract her. I faintly heard her laughter.

She was happy now. Not in that depressed mood of hers. I felt a tug in my chest, and I realised – _I want to keep her happy._ Over the months that I had been with her, she had become more than a teacher – she was my sister, my mother, my friend. And to keep her happy, I would do anything. Even spend the day acting like a normal kid. Which meant I would have to hide my cold.

I began to swear again, but was cut off by another rough bout of coughs. I grabbed another tissue just in time to catch the phlegm before it flew out of my mouth. By the time it finished, I was leaning on the sink, hot forehead resting on my arm, breathing heavily.

Slowly, I looked up, at the mirror positioned in front of me. My reflection – pale, other than the two bright spots of red on my cheeks – glared back at me. In my mind's eye, I could see another set of eyes – a strange mixture of green-blue, framed with long brown lashes, in a young, carefree face. The face itself was topped with a mop of messy dark brown hair, which never seemed to have any style to it, and yet always managed to look good.

The face of my best friend.

He was gloating.

Once again, I barely managed to keep myself from smashing the mirror then and there.

I stepped out of the bathroom several minutes later, smelling horribly. Perri, who had been standing in the centre of the room head-banging and air-guitaring to the song playing, paused when I appeared, one foot on the table, her face split in half with a grin. I realised then that the singer wasn't singing in English, but some other language, his deep voice strangely comforting and perfectly suiting the dark, fast melody of the song.

"Enjoyed the shower today, didn't we?"

I shrugged.

"I like to take advantage of the fact we get free water. Anyway – what's playing?" I asked. She grinned.

"Rammstein. German death metal slash industrial. They rule, don't they?" I didn't have time to answer, though – a particularly fast guitar solo began playing, and she turned away to accompany it with her own imaginary guitar. Shaking my head, I slipped passed her to go to the bedroom. She stopped as I passed, sniffing the air – then quickly clutched at her nose.

"Pee-yoo! Apprentice of mine, I need to teach you how to use _proper_ cologne!" She called as I quickly hurried off. When I reached the bedroom, I paused, just to rest my head against the wall. I had never actually told Perri about my medicine. It kind of just slipped my mind.

The movie we saw that day turned out to be a vampire movie. It wasn't at all accurate – like everything Hollywood made these days – but still, it had a good storyline, and was overall enjoyable. When the credits began rolling, I made to stand up, but Perri grabbed me by the end of my coat and yanked me down again. I looked at her, bewildered. She just winked, tapping her nose.

We snuck into the next movie without having to pay. It was better than the first – one of those plotless action movies with the muscle-bound main character, the hot female D.I.D (who Perri couldn't stop insulting the whole way through) and the loyal sidekick put in for the teenaged girl audience.

We stayed for the movie after that, too – this one was a sort of romance comedy, about a whole bunch of people mixing up their identities and falling in love with the wrong people. Or something to that effect. Perri and I used the last of our cold popcorn to throw at the screen, jeering at the horrible acting.

We were halfway through our fourth movie – one of those thriller-horrors about a psychic boy and his two friends trying to find their way out of a house filled with ghosts with only a damaged video camera and a restless spirit to aid them (the best movie I'd seen all day – I was actually getting scared at some points in it!) – when the attendants finally figured out that we hadn't left our seats for the last eight or so hours. They came in and told us to leave. So, laughing, we did, running out of the dark room amidst a shower of hisses and shushes and people crying 'Shut up!'.

When we got out into the brightly lit hallway outside, Perri collapsed against me, laughing so hard that I thought she would burst. I was laughing too, trying my best to support her, but ending up stumbling backwards into the wall.

I began to cough, my laughs petering away. Soon, my head was spinning wildly again – so wildly that I couldn't even stand straight. Promptly, I sat heavily on my backside, my breaths loud and haggard. Perri stopped laughing, looking down at me, her face filled with concern – I think. My head was spinning too much to be able to tell what was going on with her face. My own face was uncomfortably hot.

"Steve?" She asked worriedly, kneeling down next to me. "Steve, are you all right?"

I looked up at her, watching her grey eyes swim this way and that. The corners of my vision began misting up, the whiteness slowly picking its way along until it threatened to cover the whole lot.

"I think I'm going to faint," I said lightly.

And then the next thing I knew, all I could see was white, and all I could hear was rushing air, and strangely – music. Rammstein had set up their stuff in my head and were playing a personal concert, just for me.

And vaguely, so very far away, I could hear a voice. It was calling to me.

She was calling me home again.

----

**A.N** Mwuaha! New place for my notes. .

adrew-needs-to-write : Oodnadatta? I thought that was just a password for something in a war book! O.o Well, I'm from Sydney. Mwuah. Thanks! .

Funkynerd : Hehe, yay! I've made someone like him! does a little dance Actually, when Perri moved, she did, in fact, move to QLD. Tell me, why is it so damned cold at the moment here? I'm wearing a jumper! In QUEENSLAND! That ain't supposed to happen! dies comes back to life to read the rest of your fics

And to Dave: Thanks! Uh… slow? Wow. This is actually quite fast for one of my stories. My original fic (shameless plug! 'Chase the Moon' - go read it at , woot!) is only four chapters and at 41 pages… does again

I'm sorry for the drawn-out faint. I fainted the day I typed this, so I really wanted to describe how it actually feels. Much fun. . I've typed the next chapter up, but I'm kinda stuck on the one after (which will, I promise, have  a lot of action!). So it may take a while for that chapter to appear… scampers off

THANKYOU!

(And more shameless plugs: Rammstein rules!)


	11. Ten: Hypnotic Gaze

**Ten: Hypnotic Gaze**

----

Darkness. All around, pressing down on me, forcing the air from my lungs. Voices – calling, crying. Screaming?

They were in pain.

Above them all, another – deep, dark, terrifying, darker than the darkness that surrounded me. A shadow. Its voice reached out for me…

Then silence. Nothing.

----

Hot. It was boiling. As if I were sitting in a bed of flames. Skin prickling, sweat trickling, suffocating, suffocating…

Then coolness on my head. Talking. Whispering. Singing.

"_Everything's__ gonna be all right… rock a bye… rock a bye…"_

It's her voice.

I sunk back into darkness.

----

I was standing. Where was I? Tiles, dirty mirrors, urinals, cubicles in front of me –

Back where it all started.

I looked down. I see: The body of a child. Of a twelve year old boy, wearing a school uniform.

A voice – my own? Not my own? – called out. Another – familiar, very familiar – replied. One of the doors jumped as if being kicked.

My body, not controlled by me, stepped forward and pushed the door open. Sitting on the toilet, the lid down, was a boy.

Blue-green eyes. Pale skin. Childish, open face. Messy dark hair.

Darren… 

He was grinning. At first, it was a happy grin, friendly, like every child's smile. But then it changed. It became evil, malevolent. Filled with sharp, gnashing teeth…

The room around me disappeared. Instead, I was standing outside, in a clearing in a forest. I glanced down – I was back to my normal self. Around me, people fought – no, not people: _vampires and vampaneze._

One teenager stood in the middle of it. Glaring at me. Short sword held in his hand. Right thumb missing. Blood splattered across his face – but that didn't hide his eyes. Blue-green. Filled with hate.

He leapt at me with a blood-curdling war cry.

I stumbled back, into darkness.

----

More voices. Close to me, yet so far away. Talking to me? No – talking _about_ me.

"…looks like he's getting worse!"

"Miss, please, calm down… he's perfectly fine…"

"Why is he thrashing and screaming in his bed, then?!"

"Miss, I have to admit that this is one of the worst cases of the common cold I have ever seen, and yes, it puzzles me, too, but you have to calm down. Your brother is going to be okay. We've pumped him full of antibiotics. Just wait for them to kick in."

"Well, that's real helpful!"

"You know, if you had brought him in earlier, this could have been helped quicker…"

"I never knew he had a cold!"

"Miss, just calm down… he'll be out of here in no time…"

Quiet. Rustle of clothe. Someone grabbing my hand, holding it tight.

"He'd better be okay…"

The darkness. It enveloped me completely once more.

----

_More_ voices. Slow and quiet at first, then building, become louder and stronger and faster, like a train steaming towards me. Layered on top of the others, they almost became a jumble of gibberish.

"…highly susceptible to diseases…lucky this time…"

"Steve-!"

_"…lord…"_

_(but heed this darren shan-)_

"…most pathetic thing I've seen in a long time…"

"not as stupid as you think"

(_i'll__ grow)_

"what's a snake-boy?"

"blood is tainted"

_"…of…"_

_(i'll get older and stronger and braver) _

"make me your assistant"

"You need to live life!"

_(i'm going to devote my entire life to developing my body, and when the day comes)_

"…no cure…."

"…spider…"

_(when i'm fully equipped and properly prepared)_

"I am the Vampire Lord! I will suck all your blood!"

"you… you wanted to become…"

_"…the…"_

_(i'm going to hunt you down and kill you)_

"ready, soldier?!"

"he just lay there… like he was going to jump up any second…"

_(i'm going to become the world's best vampire hunter, and there won't be a single hole that you can find that i can't find too)_

"steve"

"Steve."

"STEVE!"

"...spiders…"

"…vampires…"

"…evil…"

"…revenge…"

"…shadows…"

_(on this blood, i so swear it!)_

And then, they fell quiet, eerily so. Shivers ran down my spine. One last voice spoke, barely audible over the silence –

_'He's waiting for you… in a bed a flames, beyond the moons of blue-green…he awaits you…'_

----

I opened my eyes.

I was staring up at a pale blue ceiling.

I blinked, frowning.

_An unfamiliar ceiling_, I thought, quoting a show I used to watch when I was younger.

The room was quiet.

For the first time, I noticed the tightness around my chest, and the weight against my stomach. Turning my head slightly, I looked down. The covers were drawn up, and tucked in tightly, hardly giving me any room to breath. And beyond…

Perri was asleep, her chair tilting forward dangerously as she leaned forward to lie on me. The left side of her face – the side with the tattoo – was visible, the rest of her face hidden under her arms and hair. A frown was etched into her features. Her mouth was open slightly, allowing a small trickle of drool to spill from her lips.

I smiled, reaching my hand forward to touch her cheek. As I did, I noticed something. I froze.

On her cheek, underneath her tattoo, were three, long scars…

Her eyes flickered open and locked with mine.

"You're awake," she said softly. My smile spread.

"Hello to you too."

Perri grinned, wiped at her mouth, then stood up and stretched her back out. I propped myself up on my elbows and yawned, glancing around the room. It was bare, other than my own bed, the chair Perri had been using, and a plain white bedside table. I turned back to Perri, who collapsed back into her seat.

"How long have I been out for?" I asked.

"Around two days," she answered. I rose my eyebrows, resisting the urge to whistle – then I took in her clothes. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing last time I saw her.

"Er… have you been here the whole time?'

"Huh?" She asked, confused – then she glanced down and noticed her clothes. Perri looked back up sheepishly. "Uh… yeah… I was – you know – playing the part of the, uh, worried sister."

Ever since we started travelling, we had taken on the identities of Perri and Steve Walters – the older sister dragging her younger brother around the world to visit the birthplaces of various fighting styles. She had come up with the story, obviously.

"Steve…"

She was looking down, away from me. I could tell she was being serious now.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't… why didn't you tell me you have a low immunity system?!" She cried, looking up at me. "Why didn't you tell me you had a cold?!"

"I…" I started, taken aback. I blinked, then shook my head. "I didn't want to worry you…" I said truthfully.

Perri's face softened. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh, Steve…! You're like a little brother to me – I've told you that already! I'm _meant_ to worry about you!"

I frowned slightly, remembering something she had said the other night. Something about me reminding her of someone…

"Perri…" I said quietly. She rose her eyebrows, a sign for me to keep going. "The other day, you said… you said that I remind you of someone. Who do I remind you of?"  
Her eyes widened for a second, but only a second. Then she leaned back into her seat, craning her neck back so that she could look at the ceiling. She didn't answer my question.

"Perr-"

"His name was Toby – Tobias. My boyfriend's little brother. He was seven years younger than me, and yet… I was closer to him than I was with Ryder." She smiled crookedly, looking down at me and lifting her arm to show the childish string bracelet she always wore around her wrist. I had noticed it before, but knew better not to ask about it. "He made this for me. Said it would keep us together forever."

Perri continued to look at it sadly, her long, calloused hands fidgeting in her lap. I didn't make a sound.

Then, quite suddenly, she slapped her knees, jumping to her feet and grinning broadly. I almost jumped as well, I was so surprised by her mood swing.

"Right, then, young padawan! The doc said that once you woke up, you were free to go! I already have your prescription, so let's get up and at 'em!" She cried. I couldn't help but grin – she had returned to normal. That was one of the things I loved about Perri – her forever-changing emotions.

Yerk! Did I just say 'love' and 'Perri' in the same sentence?! What's happening to me?!

By the time we got back to our hotel, I was feeling extremely worn out. Perri took one look at my drooping eyelids, and marched me to my bed.

"I don't want to see you until you have some colour in your cheeks!" She cried, then stormed from the room, closing the door sharply behind her. I just shook my head and slipped myself into the bed.

My dreams were plagued that night. Plagued by a floating pair of eyes. I guess you can tell what colour they were. I could see marks, like scars, gashes of red in the darkness around me. I could hear the screaming. I could hear the pain.

I could hear that shadow of a voice, commanding over all of them, as if it was their lord.

The lord of the shadows.

Something was calling me.

By the time I woke up, some ten hours later, my bed was soaked through with sweat. I actually felt sorry for the cleaning ladies. I wiped at my forehead, and realised that I hadn't had a shower for a few days now – well, unless, of course, one of those nurses at the hospital gave me a bath. Damn. How unlucky – I would have been unconscious the whole time.

I also realised that many of my diary entries had had a lot to do with showers. I apologise, diary dearest. I won't do it again.

Gathering my things, I slipt out of the somewhat stuffy bedroom, out into the lounge. The television was on the news again, but I barely heard it as I stepped in. Perri was standing in front of it, hands on hips, frowning once again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She glanced at me.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked. I nodded. "Good. Go have a shower then start packing. We're leaving as soon as you're ready."

Feeling confused, but knowing better than to question her, I stepped towards the shower – but stopped and looked at the TV.

"'…_ bodies of six missing teenagers were unearthed in an unused warehouse… authorities have not confirmed anything yet… but witnesses have claimed that the bodies look as though they were completely drained of their blood… Susan Doherty reports…'"_

As I slipped into the bathroom, one single thought ran through my head:

_We're going on a vamp hunt!_

I almost broke out into song, I was so joyful.

And that just confirmed it. There is something in those drugs I'm taking. They make me too damned cheerful!

It hit me then just how determined Perri was to hunt down any and all vampaneze she came across. Why was she so driven? Was it the same reason for me? Revenge? An oath she swore one fateful night to take the life of another, no matter what?

And did her reason have anything to do with the three scars on her cheek – the mark of a victim of the vampaneze?

----

**A.N**

I've decided that I'll start having chapter titles. O.o

The song Perri's singing is 'Lullaby' by Shawn Mullins. Guess it's the only lullaby she knows. .;

Wow. 48 reviews? I feel like I'm gonna faint again!

Rogue: I'm pretty sure either Steve or Darren said somewhere that they were about 26… and then I figured it out form there. Darren was a vampire for 14, so, it ends up he was about 12 when he was turned. I had originally guessed that, so I'm happy. . Anyway, thanks for reading!

adrew-needs-to-write: Eek, I'm sorry! Yeah, Sydney's fun – but I'm sure US is better!

S-A: THANKYOU! I feel so extra special now!

The next chapter is being really annoying, and is really crappy so far. It may be a while before it appears… o.O

Thanks for reading!

----


	12. Eleven: I Need To Sleep

**Eleven: I Need To Sleep**

----

Keeping an eye on the moving figure in front of me, I stole a moment to rest on a wall, my head spinning. Even with those antibiotics, I still hadn't fully recovered from my cold – which I first got at least six weeks ago. I muttered under my breath, cursing all the things I always cursed, and pulled out my phone, hitting the green call button.

"Our friend is moving towards the piers," I whispered into the phone.

"Roger. Can you keep up?" Perri's voice asked back. From the rustling I could hear in the background, I guessed she was in the process of running.

"Give me a few seconds to get my head straight and I'll be right."

"Got that. I'm after him now."

And then the call ended.

Slipping it back into the pocket of my coat, I looked up, towards the direction of the swiftly running figure that was our target. There was a flash, and a second figure was seen, running in the darkness several metres after it the first, as stealthily as possible. Beyond them, I could see the moon shining down onto the ocean, as if creating a path to the heavens.

Perri and me had found our way to this newest town, an otherwise quiet old seaport. Tracking down our vamp was hard, though – there were so many abandoned places along the wharves and piers that it was near impossible to find him. But then we finally had a lead – we spotted a man walking around with the customary three scars on his cheek. So we tagged that man around for a few nights, and, violá, there's our vamp.

Using the man as bait, we waited for our blood-sucking friend to show himself. He was halfway through drinking the man dry when we used our planned diversion – that being, Perri stumbling through the alley like a drunkard. The vamp fled, and I, positioned on the mostly flat rooftops, gave chase as quietly as possible. Perri followed on foot, after calling an ambulance and making sure the man was okay.

Up ahead, the first of the two figures disappeared from view. Moments later, the shadow that was Perri followed.

With a sigh, I pushed myself off of the wall I had been leaning on and leaped onto the next rooftop with a faint _thud_. I ran after the other two, my head pounding as my heart struggled to pump blood throughout my body.

I lost count of how many rooves I ran across. One had a clothesline that I nearly ran into – I did manage to collect a piece of black lingerie as I went past, but I threw it back over my shoulder. Another had a little girl sitting on a little wooden seat. She looked up, face tear-stained, mouth open in a little 'o' of surprise, as I streamed passed. The next roof was one of the slanted ones – I almost slipt off it, causing several of the tiles to crash down to the ground three storeys below me. Glancing down for the first time, I gulped, squeezed my eyes shut, and kept running.

_Damn Perri! Damn that vamp! Damn the movies! Why do they make this seem so damned easy?!_ My mind was screaming. _Damn, damn, DAMN!_

Then, quite suddenly, the roof I was running along ended. The gap to the next roof was far too wide for me to possibly jump. I came to a skidding halt, my arms windmilling wildly. Time slowed as I hung over the side, the ground some forty metres below me, beckoning for me to fall down. Remembering something I had learnt years ago, I threw my weight backwards, landing on my ass. Something cracked rather loudly.

That was just dandy. My head was spinning like mad – _again_ – I'd lost track of where Perri had gotten to, and now I'd most likely broken my ass bone. Today just wasn't my day.

I stood gingerly, but thankfully, I could move around easily. My butt was only bruised, not broken. It took a few seconds more for my head to settle down enough for me to try and look for a way down.

Just as I began to walk along the roof, I felt something vibrating in my pocket. At first, I had no idea what it was, and slapped at it – but it only turned out to be my phone.

I fished it out and answered the call, putting it to my ear.

"Nice display earlier. You're so graceful."

I growled into the phone, glancing around.

"Where are you?"

"Look down, numbskull," she answered. And so I did, peering over the edge of the roof – which I had almost fallen off a few moments ago. Down below, I could see nothing but old cardboard boxes, rubbish and dumpsters.

"Er… where are you _exactly?_"

She gave an exaggerated sigh, and from the tone of her voice, I could tell she was rolling her eyes.

"I'm waving at you now. Can you see?"

I glanced around, looking for a hint of movement – there! I could see her hand, her grinning face, around the edge of the next building, lit by one of the dark street lamps the lined the piers. I scowled down at her.

"And how the hell do I get down there?"

Perri laughed.

"So eloquent. There's one of those metal staircase things over to your left. Just take them – oh, and, be careful, it might decide to collapse beneath you at any given moment."

"Thanks for the warning," I said dryly, and ended the call. I could just hear her trying to stifle her laughs down below. Glancing over to my left, I saw what she was talking about, and mentally kicked myself for not seeing it earlier.

A few minutes later, I found Perri, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and staring at the sea. I pulled my jacket closer, shivering despite its warmth. The ocean winds tended to be very cold.

"Did you lose him?" I asked. She shook her head, and pointed with her thumb to a large, empty-looking warehouse just down the road.

"I tracked him all the way there. I was just waiting for you to arrive before I launched an attack."

"What, we're going to attack now – during night – while he's still awake?" I asked, bewildered. She shrugged.

"Why not? He's there, and I think he knew he was being followed. He could disappear during the night."

"But – you always said that its better to attack during the day, when they're at their weakest…!"

Perri's eyes flashed with anger.

"Well, I'm saying differently now, aren't I?!" She snapped. I took a step back, raising my hands.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Perri. I'm only saying we should just wait for a bit. You know, come up with a plan and stuff, not just running recklessly in." I paused, and blinked. Was this me, coming up with ideas? That medicine I had to take apparently still had an affect on me.

She continued to glare at me, her eyes shooting daggers. She seemed to be fighting an internal war against her self, as if trying to decide what to do. Finally, her face softened, and she grinned.

"You're right, Steve. We'll find somewhere high to watch the place and come up with a plan." She stepped forward, and draped her arm around my shoulders. Though she had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach, she managed to drag me down somewhat to her level, holding onto my neck so tightly that I thought I would begin to choke. "Come on. We're holing up in there tonight!" She cried, pointing to some place just out of my line of vision. Obviously, she now believed she came up with the idea of attacking at dawn. That's Perri, for you.

Using that hidden strength of hers that still managed to amaze me, Perri dragged me all the way along the wharf, pulling me up some stairs and onto another roof. She dumped me, gasping for breath, onto the ground, where I remained for some minutes, massaging my neck. By the time I had my breathing stabilised – and made sure my windpipe wasn't broken – I stood slowly to see Perri, hands in the pockets of her jacket, staring down at the warehouse opposite us.

"He's waiting for us. He knows we're coming." She said quietly. I didn't comment as I stood next to her, shivering as the cold sea wind tugged at our hair. She, too, was quiet for a few moments – then she looked at me sideways, smiling crookedly. "I'm a little mental tonight, aren't I?"

I grinned.

"'Mental' is an understatement," I told her. Perri let out a bark of laughter, and slapped me on the back. I almost lost my balance, but I quickly regained it before she noticed. I hope.

We grew quiet again, so that all that could be heard was the water down below softly lapping at the stone edges of the wharves, and, far in the distance, the sounds of a city slowly closing down and going to sleep. Not that they did sleep – if there's one thing I'd learnt in my year as a hunter, the world never truly shuts down. There was always something that was awake, even in the deepest, darkest hours of the night.

Perri was proof of that. Though she was active all day and most of the night, I hardly ever saw her sleep. Her insomnia left large, dark hollows underneath her eyes. I'd only noticed it recently – she usually used dark make-up to cover it up. Guess it was another result of her depression.

I glanced at her, and by the faint light from the moon and stars, saw she was fingering her tattoo. Or scars. Either way, her hand was there, softly stroking her skin.

"Why… why did you get your tattoo, Perri?" I asked. She glanced at me, then looked back at the warehouse.

"I wanted a reminder."

"A reminder for what?"

She looked at me, still grinning crookedly.

"A reminder for the oath I swore and the life I chose."

She fell silent. My gaze dropped to my left hand, where the shiny scar tissue looked up at me. Since my cold, I had cut a hole into my gloves so that the scar was visible, so that I, too, would be reminded. Obviously, Perri and I had a lot more in common than I originally thought.

"Get some rest, Steve," she said, her eyes never leaving the empty, dirty windows of the warehouse. "I'll wake you a few hours before dawn so we can talk over the plan."

Only too happy to oblige, I sat down and made myself comfortable against the small cement wall/railing that prevented people from falling off the three-storey building, wrapping my long, warm jacket closer to my body. I paused, rearranging my scarf so that it covered the lower half of my face. When I was done snuggling, I glanced up, only to find Perri quivering with giggles, biting her hand to stop herself from laughing out loud. I glared at her, poked my tongue out, and tried to get some sleep.

----

Recently, my dreams had been plagued by spiders, moons, stakes and beds of fire, each time growing more and more intense, to the point I could even _feel_ the burning heat of the flames licking at my skin. This night, thankfully, was not one of those nights.

I had barely closed my eyes when I felt myself being shaken awake. I opened my eyes blearily to find Perri stepping away from me. Up above, the darkened blue sky was clear of stars.

Yawning, I stood, ruffling the back of my hair in the process. Perri had gone back to her position, hands deep in her pockets, her face serious in the dark. I stretched a bit, jumping up and down and throwing a few punches and kicks to warm myself up. Once done, I stood by Perri's side.

"So, come up with a plan?" I asked. She nodded. And then, slowly, she began to tell me what was going to happen. I listened, never questioning what she had to say. In my inexperienced mind, the plan was flawless.

By the time she finished, a thin line of golden-orange showed on the horizon, marking the beginning of dawn.

Perri slung the backpack from her shoulders, and pulled a few things out. The first was a gun-shaped object, only larger. The second was what looked like a quiver, filled with small, heavy-looking, bolt-like arrows.

"I never had enough time to show you how to use one of these, so good luck," she said as she handed it all to me. "Just point and pull the trigger. Watch out for the recoil, oh, and make sure you have another bolt handy – they take forever to reload. A plus, though, is that it's a hell of a lot cleaner than using a stake. You don't get blood sprayed all over you this way."

I weighed the object in my hand, studying it closely. Then I nodded, as if I were an expert at using it already.

"Let's go."

----

The heavy door swung open with a long, loud screech. Slow footsteps on cement floor. The door slammed shut.

Silence. Dark and sinister. Then:

"Right. You know I'm here, and I know you're here. Come out, mate." The darkness near the door lightened slightly as the shadow's face split in a dark grin. "Come out, come out – wherever you are." It was a perfect Lestat impersonation.

Light streamed in through patches passed the heavy pieces of cloth that covered all the windows, lighting the dust motes that floated in the air. The golden dawn light landed on empty shelves and broken-down conveyor belts, showing the disrepair the warehouse was in.

More footsteps. The shadow by the doorway stepped into a patch of light, her face cast in a savage grin. Her calloused hands fell limp by her sides, close to her belt, where a small axe hung. She whistled, almost crudely, as if calling for a dog.

"Heeeere boy, heeere widdle vampy-poo!"

Still, silence met her voice.

A small crash, somewhere off to her left. Her body tensed, but her face remained relaxed, as she turned towards the sound. There were squeaks and skittering as something small ran away – just a rat.

She threw her arms out extravagantly, turning slowly so that she could see the whole, large room.  
"Aw, come on, mate, I'm getting bored! What are you afraid of?"

"You must be either incredibly stupid, or wishing for your death, little woman!" A heavily Russian-accented voice snarled behind her. Before she had time to whirl around, a shadow detached itself from the darkness, and leaped down onto her.

----

A.N 

I'm sorry I took forever posting this! Writer's block, technical difficulties and returning to school all conspired against me!

I'm also sorry that this chapter is so crappy. I sorry, I sorry. Next one goody-good, yes?

Have you noticed doesn't let you do some things? Like links and asterisks? Gah! Or smiley faces either! –dies-. I was trying to post the link up for a pic of Perri I drew a little while ago, but it didn't show up! So… if you're interested in seeing it, go to my profile, then to my deviantart page and search around there in recent art. It's called 'Perri the Vampire Slayer'. Original, I know.

Scarlet Rose: Ya, I've heard of Jerk – they're really good, actually! This coming from a one-day old fan, that is! Drug overdose? Now –that's- an idea! Mwuahaha!

andrew-needs-to-write: Finding Neo rules! Dory and Squirt are the best.

Funkynerd: Never mind – after getting back home in Sydney, I now realise that Brisbane is bliss. TIS FREEZING!


	13. Twelve: Staring at the Sun

**Twelve: Staring at the Sun**

**----**

From the shadows of the catwalks that ran around the walls of the warehouse, I watched as Perri entered the warehouse from the main entrance and put on her little show. I could feel my heart pounding, pounding so hard that I was sure the sound would carry throughout the large, musty warehouse. But somehow, it didn't.

I watched as she threw her arms out extravagantly. I watched – almost yelled out her name – when the vampaneze leaped out at her. Somehow, I managed to hold my tongue.

It was my turn now.

As soon as she heard the voice from the shadows, Perri had already begun to shift her weight to the side, so slightly that it was near impossible to notice. So, when the vamp leaped down from his little niche above the door, Perri was already rolling to the side, disappearing behind some shelves and away from both our views. The vamp landed where she had been, one knee on the ground, other hand on the floor for support.

Silence settled into the warehouse, the air crackling with tension. Slowly, I saw the vamp lift his bald purple-skinned head, his upper lip curled in a sneer. He looked slowly from side to side, nostrils flaring, as if trying to sniff Perri out.

That's when I stood.

Wearing the hood of my long jacket up, I was pretty much invisible in the shadows I stood in. The fact that I was standing above his eye level probably helped me blend in.

Either way, the vamp didn't see the arrow coming. My aim was a little off – the arrow head buried itself into the ground next to him, just a touch away from its intended target, his arm.

I didn't stop to see the result of my attack, though – I was already sprinting as quietly as I could to another spot, several metres away, and loading another bolt into my arrow launcher. As soon as I was ready, I launched another arrow – this one striking deep into his arm.

The vamp snarled, but once again, I was already on the move, running to another spot and readying another arrow. Once more, I fired – but in my haste, I forgot about the recoil, and the launcher snapped back and hit me in the jaw. Stunned, I fell back, slumped against the railing.

The sound caught the attention of the vamp, and his face twisted in a grin as he spotted me.

"Got you!" He snarled – but before he had a chance to leap up to the catwalk (which I'm sure he could do), Perri tackled him, sending him crashing into some shelves. By my head cleared enough for me to stand, Perri was darting away again, the vamp close on her heels. With a sudden burst of speed, the vamp jumped forward, grabbing Perri around her neck.

Before he was able to snap it in half – which he was probably about to do – Perri whirled around, her axe whistling through the air. The vamp brought his arm up just in time, letting the axe sink deep into the fleshy part of his lower arm. He howled in pain, letting go of her neck and clutching at his arm. Blood dripped from the wound, drip, drip, dripping onto the floor. With another howl, he wrenched the axe from his skin, and from where I stood, I could see a glint of white amongst the red – she had cut him almost to the bone.

Shaking my head, I began running once more to a different spot, another bolt going into the arrow launcher. Again, I launched the arrow – this time, it landed in the back of his thigh. With another gut-wrenching howl of pain, the vampaneze ripped the shaft of the arrow away, leaving the bolt buried deep in his skin.

The vampaneze whirled around. His large, fleshy mouth twisted in a sinister smile as he spotted me, halfway through loading another bolt into my weapon. I looked down for that split second to try and slip the arrow in, but my hands were shaking so hard that I couldn't set it straight.

Below, there was a sickening snap, and Perri screamed in pain. I didn't look up, too intent on my arrow.

The catwalk beneath my feet shook.

Surprised, I looked up. I only had time to let my eyes widen and snap my head to the side when the vamp's open hand scissored forward, long nails pointed towards me. I felt pain slice across my face – then I was ducking away to the side, my back smashing against the rails once more as my arrow-gun clattered to the ground.

Blood, rich and warm, trickled down my cheek.

"_Steve!_" Perri shouted from down below. I would have yelled a reply, had I the opportunity – at that particular moment in time, I was busy narrowly avoiding having my ribcage pulverised.

I jumped to my feet and dodged to the side as the vampaneze's fist went flying towards my mid-section. His momentum carried him forward several steps, and so I took the chance and scrambled forward, picking up my arrow-gun and whirling around – just in time to see the vamp hurtling towards me. At the speed he was running, combined with his extra bulk and inhuman strength, I knew I would be killed if he reached me.

It was as if time stood still. Everything was in slow-motion. No longer was I standing in an old, dirty warehouse – I was back in the cemetary, swearing an oath and cutting my skin; I was spending hours pouring over books, looking for clues and storing facts in my mind; my muscles were weary and strained after long gruelling days of training; I could feel the heat of revenge well within me.

It was too early. I hadn't achieved what I'd set out to do.

I wasn't going to die. Not yet, anyway.

With all my strength and speed, I threw myself to the side. I was quick – but the vamp was quicker. He saw my movement at the last moment, but he had built up too much momentum to slow down. His large shoulder clipped my right one, sending me spiralling to the side and over the top of the rail. I yelled out in pain as I grabbed the rail with one hand to stop myself from falling onto the ground below me. My right arm hung by my side, throbbing with pain – broken. Shattered was probably a better word.

On the catwalk, the vamp had slowed down and was slowly making his way back to me, that sickly evil grin on his ugly mug. My left arm was shaking with the effort of supporting my whole body. I didn't know how much longer it would hold.

"Let me guess," the vamp said, leaning over me and putting one large hand over mine. "You would be the apprentice, yes?"

"Correct!" A voice shouted from behind me. The vamp and I both looked in the direction of the voice – it was Perri, standing along the catwalk, in front of one of the many blacked-out windows. A crazy grin was on her face, and she seemed to be favouring one leg more than the other. "Boo!" She cried.

And then, raising her axe, she smashed the window.

Sunlight poured through the broken glass, blinding both me and the vamp.

The vamp was worse off. He hissed loudly, his hands shooting up to shield his eyes as he backed up, trying to get away from the light.

Gritting my teeth, I raised my right hand and gripped the rail. Then, using all my strength, I lifted myself up and over the rail, back onto the platform, and picked up a fallen arrow.

With a savage howl, I lashed forward with a sweep towards the vamp's legs, taking his feet from under him. He promptly fell to the ground, but before he had a chance to scramble to his feet, I jumped onto his stomach, straddling him and holding the arrow left-handed over his chest.

"Die, monster!" I found myself snarling – then, using all my remaining strength, I plunged the arrow as far into his chest as I could manage.

The vampaneze howled in pain, blood spraying from the wound – but he didn't die straight away. He bucked and thrashed beneath me, trying to push my off, but I was like a dead weight, refusing to budge.

As the blood sprayed all over my face, hands and body, and the vamp tried to dislodge me, I let one really absurd thought run through my head:

_I really have to stop stabbing these things through the heart._

I don't know how long it took for the vamp to die – every time he tried to push me off, I just held on tighter, slipping my fingers through the grille beneath him. He continued to howl in pain – and so did I, my right shoulder feeling like it was being stabbed over and over again by something hot and sharp. I quickly shut my mouth, gritting my teeth and biting the inside of my cheek so hard that I could taste blood.

For some reason, though, he was getting stronger, not weaker. He almost knocked me completely off at one point.

Then the axe swung down, a hair's breadth away from the tip of my nose. It struck the grilled metal flooring with a heavy, wet _thunk_. The body beneath me gave a final twitch, then was still. The think neck of the vampaneze lay in two halves – one connected to the body, the other connected to the head – which was on the other side of the axe.

My chest heaved. My arm throbbed. I blinked. Beside me, Perri lowered herself to her knees, her left leg stretched out awkwardly.

When I finally decided that the vamp's heart was no longer beating, I rolled off to the side and lay on my back, staring dazedly at the dirty ceiling above us. My shoulder was screaming in pain, as if it were trying to get my attention. Yeah, well, it had my attention, all right.

"Look at that," Perri said wearily. I raised my head a little to see she had a tired grin on her face. "You've gone and got blood all over your nice jacket."

"I think I broke my arm," said I.

"I think I broke my leg," said she.

We paused, our eyes meeting. Then we both burst into laughter. Pretty strange, seeing as we were both covered in blood and almost crying in pain. Maybe it was the pain itself that was doing it to us. Driving us crazy, in a way.

"I guess neither of us will be hunting for the next two months," Perri said, when our laughter had died down. I mock pouted.

"Well that's just no fun." I paused, then grinned slyly. "I guess we're gonna have to get in to a couple of dance clubs – I think I've had enough of chasing around big hairy men."

"Hear hear!" She said cheerfully.

Maybe it was Fate. Maybe it was my sixth sense warning me. Either way, I couldn't tell Perri – I couldn't tell her that somehow, I knew our carefree days would soon be over, and that we needed to live life to the fullest – before life escaped our grips.

----

**A.N** Heydaho! Sorry for taking _soooooo_ long! I kinda ran into a very thick, very high writer's block. The funny thing is, I was planning on reading the whole saga again to help me get over said block – but I never did. Then, the next day, I went out shopping. I saw the bookstore. Saw Tamora Pierce's new book (Trickester's Queen, MUST GET!), and decided to have a wander in. Saw the price of that book and decided against it. Turn to my right and see the row of Darren Shan books. Pause. Breathe. Stop self from screaming.

The Saga of Darren Shan 9: Killers of the Dawn.

YAY! I finally read it, and IT'S BLOODY BRILLIANT! I LURVE STEVE!

…-coughs-

Anyhow, I also wanted to say that I've got an idea for a sequel of sorts – it's going to be based on my version of Annie (who you will be meeting very very soon!) but it won't appear until after certain events occur in this story. Hehehe. Stay tuned!

Replies:

Away and lost: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes. I agree. She has gotten on my nerves too...

Andrew: Yeah, I've heard of Evanescence, they're okay… S.O.A.D rule though. The best band of all is The Butterfly Effect. They are teh w00tness. XD. I'll try to get around to reading you're story!

To All: Thank you guys! I love you all! XD


	14. Thirteen: Last Train Home

**Thirteen: Last Train Home**

**----**

Several months passed. My eighteenth birthday, the day I was officially an adult in the eyes of the law, was coming soon. My arm – which, by the way, had been broken in several places, almost to the point of shattering – and Perri's leg both healed in the correct space of time, though my arm was a little shorter than the other. In no time at all, we were back on track, hunting down two more vampaneze and slaying them before they could cause more destruction in the world.

Life had returned to normal once more.

Well, as normal as life could be for two revenge-driven vampaneze hunters.

After killing the second of the two vampaneze – bringing my overall total to four all in all, go me – we stuck around in that town for a while. Well, Perri did, anyway. She didn't seem too keen on picking up her roots and moving anytime soon. She had me enrol myself into the local gym and boxing club. While I was there, training my guts out, she would disappear hours on end without a word, and even when she returned she wouldn't tell me where she had gone – not that I asked. Perri must have told my coach and instructors to train me as hard as possible or something, because by the time I got back to the hotel every afternoon I'd be too exhausted to make it to the bed before falling asleep. I know for a fact that Perri found me asleep on the floor more than once – there was even one time she swore that I had fallen asleep standing up!

It was about three weeks after this gruelling training when Perri finally said something.

I was rolling out of bed in the morning, groaning over my sore, tired muscles, when Perri bounced into the room, grinning happily. I scowled at her.

"What are you so cheerful about?" I asked. She beamed.

"Found out what I was looking for. Tell me – do you have a passport?"

"Yeah – why?"

"We're leaving the country, my young padawan. We're going to Germany!" She cried happily, doing a strange little dance consisting of jumping around on the spot while punching the air madly. Still half asleep, her words took several moments to reach my brain and get processed. When they finally did, all I could do was blink.

"Why?"

Perri paused in her dance, blinking.

"Well… I guess you could say the thing I'm looking for is there."

"What _are_ you looking for, anyway?"

She grinned, bouncing towards me and tapping my nose with her finger several times. I blinked, going cross-eyed as I tried to watch her finger.

"That is something you'll have to figure out for yourself, apprentice." She rocked back onto the heels of her feet while I scowled up at her, crossing her arms and tapping the side of her face with one hand. "Now then. Is there anywhere in particular you want to visit before going to Germany? I mean, this'll probably be the last time you'll see Ireland for a while, so you'd better make sure you haven't left any girlfriends waiting at home!"

"But I don't have a girlfriend…" I mumbled, confused. She pulled a face, though her eyes were dancing with humour.

"Trust me, Steve, a guy as cute as you is _bound_ to have girls with crushes on them back home."

I scowled. The only girl I really knew was Annie Shan – and she was, what, three years younger than me? When I left home, she was just barely thirteen, still a kid basically. It never occurred to me that she could have grown in the year and a bit since I'd seen her.

But as I thought of Annie, I thought of how much I missed home. I didn't realise it before. I guess my exciting life kind of made me forget all about the town I grew up in. But now that I was thinking of it, I could feel a deep… _ache_ inside of me. I wanted to go home again, even if it was for a little while. I missed school, Alan and Tommy, football, Annie… hell, I even missed my mother, though I'd die before I'd admit it.

With these thoughts realised, I looked up at Perri and smiled slightly.

"Can we visit my hometown – one last time?"

----

I had travelled pretty far away from my small hometown in the past year and a half. It took us several days, buses, trains and kindly truck drivers to get even close. I enjoyed it – I would sit back in my seat, and watch the green Irish countryside flash passed, Perri humming a merry tune or chatting to another passenger or driver cheerfully beside me. If I tried hard, I would have forgotten all about vampires and vampaneze and thoughts of revenge. All I could think of was _I was going home!_

And then it happened.

We had just gotten off a train, which we had been travelling on for about two hours, and were having afternoon tea outside a café– how girly does that sound? – when Perri bought the local newspaper. Being in the same city as my hometown, any news from my neck of the woods would have been in the paper too. As she flipped through it, I asked if I could read it after her. Several minutes later, she passed it over, and I turned it to the front page.

As I read, my mouth went dry.

My heart stopped.

I stared.

Abruptly, I stood up again and looked around for a payphone. Perri looked up, concerned.

"Steve? What's up?"

I didn't answer, having spotted a phone and was already racing towards it. As I picked up the phone, pushed in a few spare coins and began dialling the number that I had never forgotten, I sensed Perri start reading the paper behind me.

'Two Die in Fatal Car Crash' – the headline read – 'Believed to be Murder-Suicide'.

'Last night, at approx. 10.35pm, a red station wagon crashed into a tree along the main highway, bursting into flame instantaneously. The two bodies found in the wreck have been confirmed to be Dermot and Angela Shan…'

The phone, which had been ringing, rung itself out as no one picked up. I made an aggravated sound of some sort, and rang the number again.

'…never got over his son's death six years ago… fell deeper and deeper into depression…'

Once again, it rung out. I smashed the phone back into its bracket, and chewed on my lip, thinking. Then an idea hit me. I picked the phone up once more, and rang another number. My number.

'…daughter, Annie, was at a friend's house when the crash occurred… will now be sent to England, where she will live with relatives…'

The phone was picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar voice breathed.


	15. Fourteen: Riraito

**Fourteen: Rewrite (Riraito)**

----

"Annie?" I asked. There was a pause on the other side of the phone.

"Steve? Is that you?"

"What are you doing over my house?"

"Your… mum's letting me stay over for a while. I've kinda become friends with her this passed year. I can't understand why you hated her so much – she's really nice! And she makes some nice chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I'm using your bedroom."

I found myself grinning despite myself. I'd forgotten what Annie was like. Though her parents were dead, leaving her orphaned, she still managed to be cheerful. She was so much like Da – no. She wasn't like him.

"Listen, Annie, I… heard about your parents…"

There was silence on the other end.

"Annie? Are you still there?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Steve. I know what you're looking for now."

"Huh?"

"Darren. He's not dead. He's a vampire, isn't he?" She was talking softly, as if afraid that someone would hear. She must have heard my sharp intake of breath, because she ploughed on. "I'm right, aren't I? He became a vampire. He, he faked his death somehow, or that wasn't really his body, or, or something!"

"How did you… how did you find out?"

"I'm not stupid, Steve. Just because I'm a girl and younger than you doesn't mean I can't read. Ever since you went, I've been doing research. Your mum would let me into your room – all your books were about vampires and you had pieces of paper floating around the room about vampires. Then I went to the library and checked out every book you borrowed – and guess what? They were all about vampires. Let's not forget the scrawls on your bedroom wall – the ones that say 'Darren is a vampire!' If they don't prove it, what does?"

"Why are you telling me this, Annie?"

"Where are you right now, Steve?"

"Huh?"

"I asked where are you. You must be pretty close, if you heard about Dermot and Angela's deaths."

I told the name of the town I was in, and wondered at the use of her parent's first names. That was pretty odd. Okay, well, maybe it was like me and calling my mother 'she' all the time. Maybe Annie didn't get along well with her parents or something.

"Good. You're close to me. Tell me what hotel you're staying at and I'll be there tomorrow."

"Wait – what – why?!" I blurted. She gave an exasperated sigh.

"Don't you get it? Damn, you're pretty slow. I'm coming with you, Steve."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am!"

"No you're – Annie, it's too damned dangerous for a girl!"

"Hey!" Perri said from behind me. I jumped – I hadn't realised she was there, listening in. I pulled a face at her and went back to the phone.

"Steve, listen. I don't want to go to England, okay? I want to go with you. I… I want to find out the truth. I want to help you find Darren, and I want to find why he did this to our family. Why he ruined us."

Though I remained calm on the outside, on the inside I was battling with myself. She wanted to know the truth, like I did. She wanted Darren, like I did. But I couldn't let her. She was still too young. Plus, she was a girl. She wasn't strong enough to compete against vampaneze.

The world of the night was too strong for her.

"No, Annie. You can't come with me."

"But – Steve!"

"No, Annie. My change is about to run out, anyway. Got to go. Goodbye, Annie."

I could still hear her voice, thin and tinny, as I put the phone back in its bracket.

"You're very cruel, you know, Steve," Perri said. She had her arms crossed as she leaned on the side of the phone booth, a slight glare on her face. I glared back.

"You heard the whole thing?"

"Yep."

I scowled at her, stalking back to our table and grabbing my bag. She followed, shoving her hands into her pockets and looking up at the sky.

"You were right to say no, Steve – this life isn't for everyone," she said softly, then reached down to pick up her sports bag. She paused for a second, glancing up at me. "But then again, she sounded like she had determination. And in this world, that could be one of the most important things you need."

With that, Perri turned on her heel and wandered away, one hand stuck in her pocket, the other holding her large bag as she whistled and stared up at the sky once more. I stared at her back for several moments, feeling confused. Then I shook my head, and trotted after her.

----

I left Perri at the hotel the next day, catching a bus back to my town. It didn't take long – within the hour, I was stepping off the bus and back into my past, into the place I had lived for the majority of my life. As soon as I set my foot on the ground, I realised just how much I had missed this place.

At first, I didn't know where to go. There were three places I knew I _didn't_ want to go, though – those being my house, the Shan house, and the cemetery. All for obvious reasons.

And then suddenly, I was off. My feet decided where I was meant to go, and go I went. I visited all my childhood haunts; bought an ice cream at my favourite ice creamery; watched some kids kick a ball around in one of the parks; visited the football field, where I saw Tommy. Being the males we were, we kind of just grinned, waved, slapped each other's backs and asked 'How you been'. You know, the normal. He went back to his soccer practice soon after, so I was left to wander around again.

I went back to my old high school, just for old times sake. I swear I saw Mr Dalton's car at one stage, but it being a weekend, it probably wasn't.

I was almost in a daze when my feet decided to take me to one last place. I didn't notice where I was going. One minute, I was standing outside a bakery. The next, my feet were stepping over neat, clip green grass, with marble crosses and angels and tombstones all around me.

I stopped.

Damn my feet!

I glanced around briefly, my surroundings becoming familiar. Then I looked down, at the marker sitting directly in front of me.

**Darren Shan**

**1988 – 2000**

**Beloved son, brother and friend**

**We love you**

Despite the fact that his body was 'buried' six years ago, the grass covering his grave was old, dull and dry, not like any of the other rich grass around it. The area, too, was also a little sunken, as if it were missing something.

A body, perhaps?

"I _knew_ you'd be here," an unfamiliar voice, now familiar, said from behind me. I whirled around.

There stood a girl. Though she was several inches shorter than me, she was pretty tall – well taller than Perri, in any case. Her dark hair was shoulder-length, worn out with several tiny plaits running throughout it, a fringe covering her big, bright blue-green eyes. She was wearing a loose black long-sleeved shirt and low dark jeans, a bag sitting near her feet. Despite the dark make-up she was wearing, her face was young and childish, betraying her true age.

I gaped at her.

"Annie?!" I asked, incredulous. She broke into a wide smile.

"Wow, you haven't changed a bit, Steve – except for the fact that you cut your hair and seem to have gained a bit more muscle," Annie Shan said, picking up her bag. As I continued to gape, she tucked her hands behind her back and waltzed towards me until she was standing directly in front. She didn't hide the fact that she was studying me – she even circled me, looking me up and down.

"You – I barely recognised you, Annie!" I exclaimed. "The only reason I knew it was you was your eyes. They're the same colour as Da-"

Once more I stopped, unable to say His name. I don't know why I couldn't say it. I just… couldn't stand it at the moment.

Annie paused, stepping back in front of me again. She was looking down, towards the side – I followed her gaze and found that she was staring at Darren's marker. Her hands were clenched so hard that they were shaking.

After several moments, she snorted, kicking the dull grass beneath our feet.

"This grass gave it away, you know?" She said, glancing up at me, then spread her arms and turned in a small circle, gesturing to the cemetery that surrounded us. "Look at the rest of the grass – it's all green, because the dead bodies fertilise it. Darren's, though? It's yellow. Dead. There's nothing there."

Now she was glaring up at me, and I almost felt uncomfortable under her gaze. It was too much like Darren's for my liking.

"You're taking me with you, Steve. I don't care what you say," she told me, crossing her arms and glaring up at me. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my own arms, glaring straight back down at her. Two could play at that game.

"I said no, Annie, and I mean it. You wouldn't survive a day out in the real world," I said, nastier than I had originally intended. She didn't wince, just continued to glare up at me. There was something in her eyes… something strong… something like _determination_…

This was going to be hard.

"I would too," she said, a little childishly. "I can train. I can get stronger. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it – I won't complain. You'll see."

Six years ago, on a dark night, another child had said something almost identical to what Annie had just said… and in fact, it was almost in the same spot, too.

"Annie!" I cried exasperatedly. "It's not as simple and training and getting stronger! Out there, the key is _surviving_ – not being stronger! You have to kill people in my world – are you prepared to kill people, Annie? Are you?"

"How many people have you killed, Steve?" Annie asked quietly, still looking up at me. I looked away slightly, a shadow crossing my face.

"By myself, two. With my partner, four. All of them vampaneze."

"Vampaneze?"

"Long story."

She looked away as well, seemingly uncertain. Then, a second later, she looked up again, her determination back in her eyes.

"I'm prepared to kill," she said softly. I sighed, taking her by the shoulders.

"Annie – tell me. Just tell me. Why do you want to come with me?"

She stared straight back at me, her blue-green eyes like two faceted crystals drilling into me, not letting me go. I could see the strength there – not physical strength, but mental and emotional. She was strong. She was very strong.

Probably even stronger than me.

"I want the truth."

Truth. She wanted the truth. In a way, so did I. Why did Darren take my spot? That's what I wanted to know. But Annie's reason was different – she wanted to know why he ruined their family just to become a ruthless, blood-sucking monster.

Annie knew she was winning the fight. Joy lit her eyes, but only for a second – it was quickly hidden behind her barrier of determination. She grabbed my arm, her eyes never leaving mine.

"Steve? Can I? Please?"

At that moment, she looked so much like a cute puppy it wasn't funny. That won me over.

Numbly, I nodded so slightly that I hardly felt myself. But she saw it, and that was all that mattered. She squealed loudly, jumping on me and wrapping her arms around my neck, taking me by surprise. I stumbled back, one hand clutching Annie and the other held back to stop my fall. Luckily, I regained my balance in time – I would've fallen onto a cross on a _very_ painful spot if I hadn't.

Annie untangled herself from me, and looked up at me, face and eyes shining with joy.

"Thankyou, Steve," she said softly. I snorted, standing up and rubbing my neck.

"Don't thank me yet," I growled. "You still have to meet Perri."

"Perri?" She asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I thought you told me you didn't have a girlfriend, Steve!"

I spluttered.

"Wait – no – she's not my girlfriend!"

"Sure sure," she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me down the rows of graves. "Come on, let's meet this girlfriend of yours!"

I groaned inwardly. Girls!

----

Introducing Annie to Perri was easier than expected. At first, Perri was suspicious, looking the girl up and down with her arms crossed. Annie just looked straight back, the same expression on her face.

Then the questions started – very weird questions. Some on age. Others on favourite colours.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"How's your family life?"

"We're… estranged."

"Favourite colour?"

"Blue."

"Are you good at school?"

"Only in science, I suck at everything else."

"Favourite music?"

"Don't listen to much."

"Do you like lemurs?"

"Huh?"

"Ninjas?"

"Uh… they're cool?"

"Can you fight at all?"

"Er, I know a few street fighting moves…"

"Do you exercise regularly?"

"Yes."

"What social group do you belong to?"

"Um… the sporty-ones?"

"Last but not least, what's your favourite sport – and if you say netball, I will rip your head off here and now."

"Bleh, I hate netball! Football."

"You mean rugby?!"

"No. Soccer."

That seemed to decide it. Perri smiled smugly and slipped her arm over Annie's shoulder.

"She'll do juuuust fine, Steve," she said happily. Annie grinned up at me as I gaped.

"How come she didn't have to do any tests like me? Why didn't she get beaten up or – or have to kill a vamp – or –"

"She didn't have to do that, Steve, because she's a girl, therefore more intelligent and not as competitive as you are. And plus, she likes soccer. She's cool."

"But I like soccer!"

"Oh, stop complaining, Steve," Perri said with a wink. Annie grinned and poked her tongue out at me as the two girls turned away and began walking towards the lounge room of our hotel room, in order to get to know each other. I just stared at their backs.

"Is he always like that?" Annie giggled.

"Yeah, he's just a big grumpy-boots. Now, tell me, do you have a passport?"

"Nope."

"Oh well. I have a friend over in Dublin that can fix you up one cheap. Oh, by the way, are you the girlfriend Steve's always talking about?"

"Ha! He wishes. Are _you_ the girl Steve reckons he's going out with?"

"Hell no! He's too young for me! Yeah, he's got a great accent, but still… So does Cillian Murphy, and he's my age!"

"Cillian Murphy? Naaah, Colin Farrel is _soo_ much hotter!"

God. Girls. I can't believe I was now stuck with two of them.

Once again, life had taken an interesting turn.

Now, I was stuck with a depressed Aussie shrimp with a sharp tongue and an even sharper punch – as well as my ex best friend's little sister, who had bitten off more than she could chew.

I'm screwed.

----

**A.N **Why the double dose, you ask?

…You're gonna kill me for this.

For the next twenty-odd days, I'm gonna be away on holidays, so I thought I might as well give you two chapters… though this one was a little on the sucky side…

I hope you don't mind Annie! XD

See you in a month's time! MWUAHAHAHAHA!

By the by, Cillian Murphy is the hot Irish actor out of 28 Days Later. He will also be starring as Dr. Scarecrow in the next Batman movie. YATTA!

Oh, ya, and this chapter is partly dedicated to S-A for being my first reviewer! XD


	16. A Slight Interlude

**A Slight Interlude**

**----**

Hehehehe! Hi there! Bet you don't recognize ME!

Yes, that's right, Annie here, and I'm HIGH on COKE!

Hahaha, we arrived in Munich, Germany about two days ago. I loved the plane trip – Steve didn't though. He was off running to the toilet every few minutes with a hand trying to cover his mouth before he threw up. One time the toilet was taken so he had to run around trying to find a bag.

It was hilarious!

Of course, he was okay every time one of the stewardesses walked passed. Damned pervert.

After we got to Munich we travelled by bus to Stuttgart then found a hotel. Okay, not a hotel, it was one of those crappy backpacker inn things. I guess it's what most vampire hunters sleep in. I'll just have to get used to it, right?

Even though I didn't get sick, I got jet lag – that's why I've been stuck in the hotel room sleeping for the last twenty odd hours while the other two wander the streets of Stuttgart. Damn them!

Oh well. I got my revenge.

I found Steve's diary! AHAHAHA!

Yes, I am evil.

HI STEVE!

MWUAHAHAHA!

I probably shouldn't tell him about my diary. He'd probably end up going through mine too. He has some pretty interesting stuff in here. I can't believe he hates Darren more than I do. Wow. That's just… impossible.

I know! I'll hide my diary in my knickers! HA! Steve'll NEVER look there! (Hint hint, nudge nudge, Steve! If I find my bras and undies disturbed, I'll KNOW it was you!)

Gah, I'm bored.

Right, I'm off to force some poor innocent German kids to play soccer with me. Oh, I am SO evil!

Wish me luck!

And don't forget to read MY diary too! (Hands off, Steve, there's things in there I don't want YOU to see!)

----

**A.N** Hey guys! Guess what – I'MMMM BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

… Hmm, you must have figured that out… -coughs-

I'm a little browner, a little older, a little sicker, a little more creative, and terribly missing a guy I met – but enough of that!

This chapter was just one of those things to let you know I'm back. And to let you know that the first entry of Annie's diary has been posted. Go me!

OH! It was ALSO to let you know one, special thing.

The next chapter will involve birthdays, nightclubs, a pissed-off Steve, kisses, 'excitable' presents not suitable for young children annnnd (drumroll please…)

One (and quite possibly two!) of everyone's favourite vampires! YAY!

Anyone who guesses either of them correctly gets a cookie. Hehehe!

Ashley: Hehe, thanksya. Don't worry, something's gonna happen with them. Mebbe a bit too quickly… And yeah, Allies is good. Ehehe.

Scarlet: Four chapters. The angst will come. MWUAHAHA! Oh, I forgot, Annie's diary is gonna be a little bit more angsty. I don't know why, it just… will…


	17. Fifteen: Klavier

A.N Hmm. One cookie goes to ScarletBlack! Everyone lurves him! (Well, obviously not. Everyone else guessed Mr Crepsley and Darren. –pouts- Though there was one Vancha… interesting…) Well, you can keep guessing who the other vampire was! XD

----

**Fifteen: Klavier**

**----**

Damn that Annie!

When I get my hands on her I'm going to KILL her!

…Oh, screw it. I couldn't be bothered. She didn't mean any harm.

And plus, it was my birthday. My eighteenth, to be precise. I have to act like an adult, now.

Or so my mother would have once said.

We'd been in Stuttgart for about a week now – I had a sneaking feeling it was because there might have been a Rammstein concert, but I later found out that they weren't touring at the time. Nothing interesting had happened. Perri, Annie and I had just wandered around the large German town, getting to know the layout for who knows what reason.

And then it happened.

I was in the middle of a particularly good dream – yes, one of _those_ dreams, and no, I won't tell you who it involved, that's just a bit too embarrassing – when something _very_ heavy landed on my stomach. My special dream was thrown out the window, gone until the next night, and I was winded so badly that I thought I would never be able to breath again.

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"_That heavy something on top of me screeched. As I lay there, winded, the thing that happened to be Perri rolled over so that she was sitting on her butt and began to bounce up and down on my stomach. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Steeeeeve, happy birthday to you!" She sang to the beat of her bounce.

Annie appeared out of nowhere next, her hair still messy from sleep. She jumped from foot to foot, clapping joyfully.

"Hip hip -" She began.

"HOORAY!" They cried together.

"Hip hip -"

"HOORAY!"

"HIP – HIP!"

"HOOORAAAAAAY!"

"For he's a jolly good fellooow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good FEEELLOOOOOOW! AAAAN-"

"SHUT UP IN THERE!" A muffled, though loud voice said from the next room, banging on the wall. Perri quickly bounced off my stomach and skipped to the wall, knocking on it.

"Sorry about that, just wishing our friend happy birthday!"

"Yeah, well, wish 'im 'appy birthday quieter, will ya?!"

"Sorry!"

"SHURRUP!"

There was quiet, except for me spluttering as I tried to get my breath back. Every single bone in my ribcage felt like it was broken. Distantly, I heard Perri turn back around and beam at Annie and me.

"The neighbour's such a nice fellow. I think we should get him a box of chocolates," she said happily. Annie clapped.

"That's a great idea! Milk, white, or dark?"

"He'll probably think they're poisoned," I groaned, before rolling over – and landing straight on the ground with a loud THUMP. While I stared up at the ceiling, winded once more, my head pounding with pain, Perri and Annie broke up into hysterics – only to be quieted by the neighbour banging on the wall again.

Annie squinted at the wall in what looked like a tired glare, one hand on her hip, the other scratching her head.

"Right, that's it, you're getting Turkish Delight for that!" She stage-whispered. Perri started giggling, trying to stop them by holding onto her nose, but that didn't work. She ended up snorting. In her fit, she fell back onto her bed, and lay there, as if in a daze.

By the time I was able to breathe properly and stand up – a good seven minutes later – both Annie and Perri were sitting on their respective beds, smiling up at me tiredly. I glared at them, shuffling to the window and tweaking apart the blinds.

The world was dark and cold.

I glanced at my watch.

It was 2:58. In the morning.

I glared at them.

"Why did you wake me up at three in the morning – and if you say 'To sing you happy birthday!' I'm going to hurt you," I growled. Perri beamed so brightly that it seemed as if the sun had risen in our hotel room. Damn those two girls and their sunniness.

"That's just part of the reason," she said, beginning to bounce up and down on her bed.

"And the other half…?" I asked warily. This time it was Annie's turn to beam.

"It's your birthday, baka! We've got a long day planned for you!" She cried, and began bouncing too. I groaned.

"Did you two get into the sugar last night or something? And what the hell is a baka?" I asked. They looked at each other blankly for a second – then collapsed into giggling fits like the pair of teenyboppers they were.

I just groaned once more, grabbed some clothes I found on the floor (I think they belonged to me…) and walked off to the shower.

Introducing Annie to Perri was probably not the most intelligent thing I had ever done in my life – and let me tell you, I have done _heaps_ of un-intelligent stuff during my years. As soon as they met, they seemed to have clicked, like they were some kind of halved shell that fit together perfectly. Yes, they were so similar it wasn't funny. It was annoying.

I had to admit though. I had never seen Perri this… happy? Was that the word? Yeah, there were times in the past where she had been _happy_, but this was the first time she had actually been _happy _happy. If it was because of Annie, or the fact that she was getting closer to whatever it was she was looking for, I had no idea.

It was the same for Annie, too. I had this feeling that she didn't exactly have an enjoyable life for the last few years.

Maybe that's why they clicked so well. They both had bad experiences, and yet both pushed them away with their own strength of character and determination to be happy. Or to be hyper.

Ye gads, I'm going all philosophical and using big words.

Oh no. Even worse. I'm using Star Wars words.

Someone kill me. Please.

----

Some thirty minutes later, the three of us walked into a bakery just as it opened. The young baker who had unlocked the door blinked at us in surprise as we bundled in, but he must have recognised Perri, because he smiled cheerfully, albeit tiredly, and wished me happy birthday. I'm not quite sure how he knew. I guess the girls told him.

We didn't have to order anything – Perri must have pre-ordered everything, because a few minutes later, I was handed a large calico bag. I peered inside to find it was filled with all sorts of baked goodies – all of them warm and freshly made.

I found my eyes boggling at the amount of food packed into the bag.

"You're very lucky, ve don't normally put so much into them, but Miss Perri persuaded us," the young baker said in badly accented English. I grinned and thanked him.

Annie bounced up to the counter, grinning up at the young German.

"Can I persuade you to make us three cups of hot chocolate, please?" She asked as sweetly as she could, batting her eyelashes. The baker pouted, then grinned.

"Ve don't usually make hot chocolate, but you are too… vat is the vord? Cute?" He pulled a face, "to say no to."

Soon we were walking out into the cold world holding Styrofoam cups of hot chocolate.

"Don't forget the _other_ thing, Christoph!" Perri called just before leaving the bakery. The baker, Christoph, grinned and waved.

"Ve von't, Miss Perri!" He called back.

Perri took us to a nearby park, where we sat on the frosty grass, eating our feast of delicious pastries and warm hot chocolate. It took us a while to eat it all – probably an hour or so. We lay there for a while, patting our stuffed stomachs, until Perri picked us up and dragged us off once more.

We climbed to the top of a flat-rooved industrial building, where we watched the sunrise. Stuttgart, under the crepuscular light, looked quite beautiful. Everything was turned into all those pretty pastel colours of orange, purple, red and yellow. I had never seen anything like it before.

Well, I _had_ seen dawn before – but they were usually when I was out hunting, when I didn't have time to stop and watch and marvel at the beauty.

God, I must sound like a right old fag. It's the women. Damn them.

We stayed there for a while, switching between sitting in a peaceful silence to talking about nothing at all. Then Perri checked her watch and dragged us off once more – this time to the movies.

We did what we had done last time we went to the cinemas –stayed there till someone kicked us out. It took them two and a half movies this time. I guess German cinema security is better than Irish security.

Then Annie and Perri literally dragged me to the shops, or 'shopping centre' as Perri put it. It was actually more fun than I thought it would have been. Perri bought me a new coat and scarf, while Annie bought me a stress ball in the shape of a soccer ball. It's really good, actually. Whenever I get stressed, I just squeeze the little thing for as long as it took me to calm down.

Then we began running riot throughout the mall, until we got kicked out by the security. Again. Luckily, Perri's short enough to pass for a teenager – otherwise she probably would have been charged for something.

I was brave enough to say that to her. It wasn't exactly a smart idea – my arm is now numb, and probably will be for the next few hours. Her punches aren't fun at all.

We dropped our stuff off at the hotel at around three. Perri disappeared to do something, leaving Annie and myself alone. It wasn't for long, though – Annie grabbed my arm and dragged me off down the street, to the local soccer field, where all her newly made German friends were waiting. To my utter embarrassment, they all knew it was my birthday, and everyone there wished me well.

We played a game of soccer – Annie, a German kid, and myself against all seven of the others. We beat them, twelve to two. Haha. We were halfway through another game – this time five a side, with Annie on the other team, though we were still drawing three all – when a car beeped at us. I turned in time to see Perri step out of the car holding a huge white cardboard box. I knew what it was instantly, and suddenly wished that the ground would swallow me up whole.

Everyone else knew what it was too. Four of the kids, including Annie, grabbed my arms and dragged me towards the nearby table and chairs, where Perri was placing the box. As soon as we got there, she grinned up at me, then pulled the top of the box off with a flourish.

Inside, the candles already lit, was the largest chocolate cake I had ever seen. My jaw dropped.

On the icing was a picture of a soccer ball in white and black frosting, and in the centre, in flowing white letters, was 'Happy Birthday Steve.'

"One, two, three," I vaguely heard Perri say…

And for the second time that day, I was being sung Happy Birthday. Never mind the fact that most of them sang in German, I still understood what they were saying.

I found my throat catching.

I smiled.

And then I did something I hadn't done since I was a little baby in need of a nappy change.

I cried.

I've spent too much time around those girls.

----

Perri took us out to dinner that night, to an expensive German restaurant. While Perri was busy arguing with the head waiter ('We booked in! Three people!' 'I am sorry, Fraulein, I can't see your name here,') Annie turned to me.

"Hey, Steve, I never got to give you my present…" She said softly. I blinked.

"You didn't have to get me a present. After all, look what you and Perri did for me today – a little embarrassing, I admit, but it was the best birthday I've ever had. Oh, and you got me that stress ball. I love that stress ball," I don't know why I was rambling, but I was. I couldn't stop myself.

Annie looked around almost shyly, as if checking if anyone was watching. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box, the type that usually contained jewellery.

"I know that these vampaneze we fight aren't weak against holy items and crucifixes and stuff, but I'm a Buffy fan, so I don't care what you say," she said quickly, and held out the box in her open palm, looking down. Slowly, I took it out of her hand and opened it up.

It was a thin silver cross, on a silver chain.

I stared. I could tell it was fairly expensive.

"Annie…" I said softly, my throat catching once more. She was blushing bright red now. "I… thankyou."

She ducked her head even further, hiding behind her dark hair. I mentally kicked myself. There was something other than thankyou I was meant to say. I didn't know what though. Hey, I was never any good with girls before, why would I be now? They should've taught us guys how to deal with girls at school, but nooo, they never did, did they?

I never got the chance to figure out whatever it was I was meant to say, because Perri finally figured out her problem with the maitréde, and away to eat dinner we went. When Perri and Annie went to the toilet together (now _there_ was something I would've liked to understand), I slipped the necklace on. When she came back later, she smiled up at me shyly and went back to her dinner.

----

Several hours later, we were standing on a quiet street, a large industrial building on the opposite side. There was a large crowd of people walking in and out, or standing outside and smoking, while a large neon sign above the large doorway flashed the word 'Zwitter'. I blinked.

"Where are we, Perri?" I asked. She grinned.

"At a nightclub. What did you think?" She asked back. I pulled a face.

"But –"

"No buts! You're eighteen, so you deserve to finally go to a bloody nightclub." She paused, standing up onto her tiptoes and peering at me closely. I backed up slightly. She frowned. "You have some grey hairs, did you know that?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Even though I'm legally allowed in there, how the heck are we going to get Annie in there? She doesn't even _look_ eighteen!" I scowled.

"Are you sure about that?" Annie piped up. I turned around to glare at her, but she only smiled back. I had to admit – she _did_ look older than she was, especially with her dark makeup and the extra low-cut top she had borrowed from Perri. Very low cut. Did I mention it was low?

Oh lord.

Annie turned now, looking up at the sign with a quizzical look on her face.

"What does 'zwitter' mean?" She asked. Perri grinned.

"I'd heard it meant 'hermaphrodite'." She said cheerfully. Annie blinked, obviously not understanding the term. I blanched.

"Why the hell are you taking us to a place like this?!" I nearly screeched. Perri laughed, looking up to the sky.

"Because I've heard my ex-boyfriend hangs out in there." She said lightly.

"Your _ex-boyfriend?!_" Annie asked.

"We're going in there just to see your ex…?" I asked blankly. Perri giggled.

"He's so _cute!_ I miss him, actually. I bought him a pair of boxers once, but I don't think he liked them much…" She mused, lost in the past. Annie and I stared at her. Our silence brought her out of her dazed state, because she seemed to jolt, then grinned broadly. "Oh, I'm not that shallow! I brought you guys here for another reason!" She winked at Annie, who ducked her head and blushed.

I looked from one to the other, confused.

"What was the other reason?" I asked. Perri grinned, and winked at me.

"That, my young padawan, is just something you're going to have to find out."

And then she was gone, crossing the road and entering the throng of people who were trying to enter the club. With a sigh, I followed, closely dogged by Annie.

We were able to slip passed the bouncers with no problem – and then we were inside.

Outside, the club seemed like any other dilapidated warehouse that lined the street, except for the minor issue of the hundred or so people lined up outside trying to get in. Inside, however, it was like another world all together.

The whole world became black and green as soon as Annie and I stepped inside. In the centre of the large hall was the dance floor itself, already crammed with a surging wave of people as they danced to the loud thumping music being played by the DJ. To the right, raised slightly above and sealed off by a railing, was a bar, as well as several stools positioned along the rails. To the left was a staircase, leading to the upper level, where more tables and seats, each in their own booth, were located.

Ahead of us, Perri took one look around, then made her way up the stairs. Soon, her short black, blue and silver head disappeared among the throng, leaving Annie and I alone.

A pair of blonde German girls walked past us, giving me one of those flirtatious looks that I was so unused to. I blushed, unable to tear my eyes away from them as one of them blew me a kiss. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Annie bristle. The next thing I knew, she had slipped her hand into mine and was dragging me towards the dance floor.

"Come on," she said, barely audible over the loud thumping music.

"B-but I can't dance!" I called over the music. She glanced back at me, a smile gracing her features.

"Neither can I."

Which turned out to be a lie.

As soon as we found a spot on the dance floor, the song changed to another one, this one high-pitched and bouncy. Annie laughed, grabbing my hands, and began to jive dance. With a grin and a shrug, I followed her lead, and soon we were laughing and jiving together, never mind the weird looks we were getting from everyone else around us.

The next song was somewhat slower. Annie stopped her jiving, and looked up at me thoughtfully.

"You don't know how to dance like this, do you?" She asked. I glanced around – most of the other guys had their partners' heads on their chests, all of them standing very close as they swayed slowly to the music. One or two of them even had their hands travelling down…

I blinked.

"Not really," I said quickly. Annie chewed on her lip for a second, then shrugged.

"I'll show you, then," she said. She grabbed my hands and placed them onto her hips – I barely managed to stop myself from pulling them back. Then she wrapped her own hands around my neck, so that we were very close, staring into each others eyes and swaying to the music like the rest of the room.

It was kind of uncomfortable, actually. I really didn't like it.

My awkwardness must have shown, because Annie began grinning at me.

"I'm not very good at this, am I?" I asked. She shook her head, giggling slightly.

"No, not really, you're too stiff." She cocked her head to the side slightly, still smiling. "But that's cute."

I blushed as she rested her head on my chest. My skin felt like it was burning.

"Annie?"

"Mmm?" She looked up, an eyebrow cocking in question.

"I.." I trailed off. She blinked. Smiled slowly.

And then, reaching up, she kissed me softly on the lips.

It took me by surprise. It was so soft, so light, so – quick. I dropped my hands.

Annie must have noticed my confusion, because she stepped back, looking down to hide her blush once more.

"I-I'm, sorry, I didn't –"

She turned to walk away, but I reached forward and grasped her hand. She looked back up at me, her blue-green eyes wide.

"Annie…"

Then I surprised myself. I kissed her.

This time she was taken by surprise. But she recovered quicker then I did, wrapping her hands around my neck again and pushing back into the kiss.

I could go on forever describing what it was like – it was like we were floating in a sea of nothingness, just me and her… – but then that would turn this into a soppy romance. Last time I checked, it was an angsty action adventure. I'm sorry.

We broke out of the kiss, slightly breathless, our foreheads touching. She closed her eyes, a smile on her lips.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for that…" She whispered.

"Maybe I do." I told her softly. She opened her eyes, slightly confused, but a flash of blue and silver had caught my attention – turning my head, I saw Perri up above, stepping into one of the booths with a _very_ angry look on her face. Annie followed my gaze in time to see Perri pull her hand back to slap someone – who, unfortunately, we were unable to see, thanks to the wall of the booth.

"That better not be her ex she's beating up," Annie groaned. I sighed.

"We'd better go stop her."

By the time we got to Perri, she was busy lifting the poor hapless man from his seat.

"-your fault, Kurda! You told me that they'd be here!"

"Hey, Perri, that's not a very nice way of treating people," I said as I came up behind her. She shot me a glare over her shoulder and dropped the man, who quickly regained his balance. He was grinning, despite the fact he had a raving deranged mad woman in front of him.

"Peregrine Walters does not know the _meaning_ of nice," the blonde said cheerfully enough as he straightened the sleeves of his coat. He sniffed slightly, then grinned at me and Annie. "Hello there. I suppose your Perri's students? You'd have to be either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to become a student of Perri's."

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Perri?" The blonde asked, hands on hips. This one had a bit more style to him. He kept his blonde hair fairly long for a guy, his blue eyes bright with mischief. On his left cheek were three scars that looked vaguely familiar. Perri glowered, then sighed.

"Steve, Annie, this is Kurda Schmalt," she said, pointing to the blonde. He bowed almost theatrically, and Perri rolled her eyes. "Sadly, you just missed Gavner."

"Gavner?"

"My ex-boyfriend."

"I still don't get how you and him ever 'went out', Perri," Kurda said, almost smugly. She pulled a face at him.

"Shut up, you ugly git," she growled. Annie's eyebrows shot up.

"You're calling him an ugly git? Jeez, I don't have much to say about your taste in men, Perri," she whispered. Perri winked at her.

"You don't have such a great taste either, Annie -" at which I glowered "-but dating vampires has its upsides. You don't get pregnant, for one." She said. My jaw dropped.

"He's a _vampire?!"_ I asked, looking from Kurda to Perri. Kurda raised his hands, grinning – sure enough, his fingertips were scarred. Beside me, Annie clenched her fists.

"A vampire, like -" She didn't get to finish her sentence, Kurda cutting her off by turning to Perri and saying,

"What, you never taught them the difference between vampires and vampaneze? Tut tut," he shook his head, and Perri pulled a face at him.

"I've told Steve, but I haven't been able to explain it all properly to Annie yet, so shush."

"Well, let's not stand around all night," Kurda said, clapping his hands together. Mutely, we all sat down, Annie next to me, and Kurda next to Perri. He turned to Perri. "So, why the social visit, Perri? Still looking for _it_?"

Perri shot him a dirty look.

"As a matter of fact, I am, no thanks to you. You told me that they'd be here, but so far I haven't even found a trace of them. Where the hell have your vampaneze friends gone, dammit?!" She asked, slamming her fist onto the table and making us jump.

"Wait a second," I said, frowning. "Did she say 'vampaneze friends'?"

"Yes, she did," Kurda answered, nodding solemnly. "You see, where most of my brothers like to go out trying to spear each other on their javelins – like the blockhead this dear girl beside me once went out with – I prefer quieter past times."

"He hates the idea of fighting." Perri said blankly. Kurda pouted.

"Yes, so, while the rest of the vampires want to wipe out the vampaneze all together, I'm trying for a somewhat more _peaceful_ way of bringing our two selves together."

"He wants peace, in other words." Perri explained, seeing our blank faces. Kurda shrugged.

"Okay, let me just say I'm the only peaceful vampire you'll ever meet," he sighed, then grinned. "For the past few decades I've been working with the vampaneze as an ambassador of sorts, trying to find out ways of bringing peace to the night."

"Is that how you got that scar?" I asked, pointing to his scarred cheek. I had just remembered where I had seen it before – on all the victims of the vamps we'd hunted in the past. And on Perri's cheek.

"They wouldn't let me talk with them until I had it. Put me at their mercy, in a way," he said, nodding.

"Why are you here, then?" Annie asked. Kurda grinned further.

"Well, I'm here for personal reasons," he said, tapping his nose. Perri snorted.

"We didn't just come here for my birthday, did we, Perri?" I asked.

"How'd you guess?" She asked blandly. She jerked her head in Kurda's direction. "Wherever he is, vampaneze are."

"They're not at the Vampire Mountain!" Kurda quipped cheerfully.

"Vampire Mountain?" Annie asked, blinking.

"It's our… headquarters, of sorts," Kurda explained, then he winced. "Which reminds me, I have to get going. The Council starts in a few weeks."

"Council?!" Annie asked, exasperated.

"A meeting between all the vampires every twelve years."

"Yeesh," she huffed, sitting back into her seat and folding her arms. "Who would've thought you vampires were so complicated?"

"Well then," Kurda said, glancing at his wrist, though there was no watch for him to look at. "The night is young, and I'm feeling a little peckish. I guess I have to be going now." He went to stand up, but Perri's hand shot out and grabbed his arm to stop him. Even in the eerie green light of the club, I could see her knuckles were white. Kurda looked down at her questioningly. She just glared at him – but this was no normal glare. It seemed as if all her built up rage and anger had welled up behind her eyes and was _pushing_ to get out, to reach out and strike the one she was glaring at. Somehow, Kurda didn't shrivel and die on the spot. I admired him for that.

"You're not going anywhere," she growled in a dangerous tone, barely audible over the music. Kurda sighed, running a hand through his hair and glancing around. Then he sat down abruptly, somewhat deflated, like a beaten man.

"What do you wish to know, Peregrine?" He asked. She kept her hand on his arm, not once loosening her grip.

"You know exactly what I want, Kurda."

He sighed again, looking down.

"You do realise that I could break your hand, kill you and your apprentices, and leave this club unnoticed in a matter of seconds?" He asked. Perri continued to glare at his down-turned head.

"No, you couldn't do that, you're a pacifist, remember?" She growled. He looked up, wincing.

"Oh yes. Forgot that."

"Tell me. Now." She tightened her grip. He glanced down at her hand as if it were a mere annoyance. Having once been at the receiving end of one of Perri's vice grips, I knew how painful they were – it just proved how strong vampires truly were. Or how weak us humans were compared to them.

"Fine," he sighed, sitting back in his seat. She didn't let go. He looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes. "There is a vampaneze gang hiding out in an abandoned house on the edge of town."

There was silence.

"And?"

"And… they're lead by Kutriht. Marcus van Kutriht." He said the name slowly, as if it were someone we all should know. Annie and I looked at each other, equally clueless. Perri however…

She released his arm slowly, looking down and clenching her fists. For the next few seconds, she took long, deep breaths, as if trying to calm herself down. Then she stood up, still looking down, and turned to Kurda.

"Perri…?" I asked worriedly.

Then she opened her eyes.

"You _bastard!"_ She screamed, and lashed forward with a powerful punch that even Kurda couldn't dodge. His surprised face snapped back, smashing into the back of the wall of the booth.

And then she stormed off, pushing her way through gaping bystanders, leaving the rest of us… gaping.

I looked at Kurda, blinking. He had recovered quickly, slowly massaging his jaw and watching Perri's retreating back almost… sadly.

"What was that all about?" Annie asked. Kurda looked at us slowly, as if just realising that we were there. His mouth twitched in a smile.

"She hasn't told you?"

We shook our heads. His smile spread.

"Then she will tell you when the time is right," he said, and before we could question him, he stood up abruptly. "You'd better follow her and make sure she doesn't do anything drastic." He exited the booth, and began walking away, but stopped, as if in mid thought, and glanced over his shoulder at us. "If… something happens, and you ever need me… I'll be here for the rest of the week."

And as suddenly as he entered our lives, he disappeared.

"Well… that was… odd." Annie said.

---

Overall, my eighteenth birthday was a good one. Even if it did signal the beginning of the downward spiral.

However, my birthday _did_ end on a good note. A very good note, in fact. When we got back to the hotel room, we found it empty. There was a piece of ripped paper on the table with a message scrawled over it in Perri's thin, spidery print:

Out for a walk. Don't wait up. 

_-P._

And so, taking advantage of our being alone, Annie gave me my other birthday present.

My dream from the night before came true.

It was better than expected, actually.

----

**A/N** Sorry about the long time between updates! I hate writer's block! I hope the length of this chapter made up for it – I know the quality sure as hell didn't! I ended up having only one of the vampires though – I had originally had Gavner as well, but he was like a third wheel, and just didn't go in the story. So he ended up leaving before everyone else even arrived. XD

And if you're wondering what Annie and Steve did at the end there, well, just guess. They're teenagers, by themselves, and have liked each other for years. A little quick, I know, but oh well. I know Annie's only fourteen, but giving the fact that she was starved of love, I think she kinda mentally needs that kind of connection… Meh! Enough of that!

Just to warn you now – I'm going on another holiday in a few weeks time, this time for six weeks. . I will have computer access though, but no net. Gahhh! So I'll try and get the next chappy up before I go. Hehehe!

Itchan: YES! STEVE IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN DARREN! MWUAHAHAHA! –end fangirl-

Lookit! Previews! XDXD

**Next Chapter:**

**Sixteen: ****Marches**** and Manoeuvres**

_"I don't want you to follow me." And with that, Perri stepped through the door and was gone. There was a click as she locked the door._

_Annie and I stared at the door. I swore briefly, then turned around to punch the doorframe several times. Seconds later, my aggression released, I slipped down and sat on the floor, shifting so that my back was against the wall._

_Annie remained where she was, hugging herself slightly. Then she grabbed her jacket, her hunting knives and made for the door._

_"Where are you going?" I asked from my spot on the ground. She paused, her hand on the doorknob._

_"I'm going to follow her. I won't let her fight those vamps by herself."_

_I sighed, dropping my head. Then I stood up slowly, reaching for my own scarf and coat._

_"Wait for me. I'm coming too."_


	18. Sixteen: Marches and Manoeuvres

**A.N** Um… beware… the discussion at the beginning may contain slight adult/sexual references. Because I'm cool like that. XD

----

**Sixteen: Marches and Manoeuvres**

----

"Did you at least use protection?" Perri's voice rang out from the couch as I wandered out of the bedroom the next morning. I was still bleary from the night before, so her words took several minutes for me to process as I wondered passed her, towards the counter that served as part of the kitchen. It took me as long as to pour a glass of water to finally compute what she said.

I ended up spluttering my water all over the counter. Putting the glass back down not-so-carefully, I rushed out to her, and almost fell over the top of the couch in my haste.

"What?!" I cried. She peered up at me, a wicked grin on her face. She was stretched out on the comfy, slightly sagging sofa, with a blanket thrown over her and what looked suspiciously like a photo in one hand. In the corner of the room, the television was on, playing what I presumed to be the news. Everything was in German, so I couldn't understand a word being said.

"You heard what I said, Steve," Perri said cheerfully. I gaped at her.

"How did you know?!" I said – okay, it was more of a groan, but you get the point.

"First-timers are always one of two things: completely silent or just plain loud." She informed me, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head, messing her short hair up even more than it already was. Her wicked little grin spread further, until it was a _big_ wicked grin. "You two were of the latter."

As I gaped at the diminutive hunter, she stood up, placing the photo facedown onto the couch and arching her spine backwards, like a cat. She closed her eyes as her back cracked, as if savouring the satisfying sound of popping bones. Then she looked back at me, serious.

"I'm only telling you as a warning, Steve," she said, all her humour from minutes ago gone. "If you don't use protection, Annie could become pregnant. And though there are other options, women tend to grow attached to the thing growing in their stomachs and don't want to give it up. And so she'd have to take care of the baby – and this life is not one for a kid. But then she couldn't just drop out of this life just to raise the kid, either – once the night has you, it holds onto you forever."

Perri shrugged, and walked to the bathroom. She stood in the doorway, pausing for a second. Then she turned around again.

"Just think on it, Steve. Okay?"

I nodded mutely. She nodded in reply, then disappeared into the bathroom, the door closing quietly behind her. Moments later, I heard the hiss of the shower running, softly merging with the low hum of the television.

I stayed where I was for several moments, the conversation I had just had with Perri running through my head a few times over. Then, with a jolt, I realised something –

_I had just gotten a lecture!_

I pulled a face. Then I slid onto the couch, sprawling over it as I had done in the past and pulling my hands behind my head. A small, content smile found its way to my features.

Perri's voice was gone, instead replaced by the events of last night… specifically, _late_ last night…

I closed my eyes, feeling oh so content.

Only to find, to my irritation, that something was digging into my back slightly.

With a slight huff, I shifted my weight a little and reached down to fish out whatever the annoyance was. My fingers touched smooth paper – of course!

Quickly, I pulled out the photo. It was facing the white underside. There was something, a caption, written in Perri's spidery print:

_Toby and me at school._

Followed by the date. It was dated some eleven years ago, when Perri was seventeen. For some reason, the name Toby rang a bell, but I couldn't remember exactly why. It floated at the edge of my memory, elusively avoiding capture as I tried to figure out why the name nagged me so.

Slowly, I turned the photo over.

It was taken on a bright, summery day. In the background was what looked like a metal classroom – a demountable – as well as a large, barky tree that I recognised to be a eucalypt. There was also a row of low, green wooden seats, covered by a few bags and students who were not meant to be part of the photo.

In the middle, though, was what was most interesting.

They both wore school uniforms, white button-up shirts, red ties, grey skirt for her and grey slacks for him. The girl was taller, her hair short, dark blonde, fringe held back by clips and slightly sunburnt face clear, open, and happy. There was a cheeky grin on her face as she did the universal 'V' sign behind the head of the boy who stood in front of her.

With a start, I realised that this cheerful, smiling blonde girl with a clear face was Perri. An untattooed, un-hair-dyed, non-depressed Perri. An innocent Perri.

The boy in front of her was several years younger, his cap pulled backwards over his slightly curly light brown hair and a small, empty-looking bag slung over his shoulders. He was looking away from the photo, a small smile on his face, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes… his eyes were saddened. As if he was struck by some great tragedy.

Or felt that tragedy would be coming soon.

And then it clicked. I remembered who Toby was. She had told me, back when I was in hospital with the cold. When she said I reminded her of someone.

He was her boyfriend's little brother. The boy she had 'adopted'.

Toby was her little brother.

And by the looks of things…

Toby was lost to her.

I was still staring at the photo when Perri came out of the shower several minutes later, towelling her hair dry. She saw me looking at the photo, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. I went to open my mouth to say something, anything, but she beat me to it, with a small, sad smile. Her eyes were strangely bright, as if she were about to cry.

"That was Toby, as you can see. He was the brightest, funniest little kid I've ever met. He…"

But she couldn't finish her sentence, her throat catching. She open and closed her mouth, as if trying to say something, but she could form no words. Finally, her shoulders sagged. And with that, she turned on her heel and entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

----

Perri didn't come out of the bedroom the rest of the day. When Annie came out, I asked how our mentor was – Annie just shrugged, saying something vague about 'she doesn't want to be disturbed…'

We had a shower together that morning, washing each other and kissing enough for us to be out of breath by the time we got out. We didn't go any further, however – Perri's lecture still rang in my ears, so when Annie asked if we could, I said no. She looked hurt, so I explained why. She simply blushed, having completely forgotten all about that.

In order to leave Perri alone, we left the hotel room and walked down to the nearby park, where I began teaching Annie some fighting moves. She was a fast learner, so I soon began progressing to slightly more advanced techniques – throws, hooks, sweeps, dodging and blocking armed attacks. These were all things that had saved my life in the past – I'm sure they would do the same for her in the future. I wished she wouldn't have to go through that, but I knew she would.

Where I was built for power, Annie was built for speed and agility – by the time we progressed to sparring matches, she was able to throw at least seven punches to my two. I still managed to overpower her though, and it was more than once that we were sent rolling through the grass thanks to my over-zealous sweeps.

Eventually, Annie's German friends appeared with a football in tow, and we ended up playing soccer all afternoon. No matter what team she was on, Annie's side always managed to win. We then did something different: nine on one. All of us against Annie. We were winning. By one point.

She was just about to score another when mothers came out looking for their children, and soon we were left by ourselves once more.

Annie and I ended up wandering around the town, with no destination in mind. We just walked and talked, talked and walked, even after the sunset and snowflakes started to fall gently from the sky, blanketing the world in a layer of soft whiteness, we continued to just walk and talk.

Annie laughed, running out into the middle of the small street and twirling in a little circle, her arms outstretched as she stared up at the sky.

"Look, Steve!" She cried, like a little child. "Look!"

She stopped her twirling and stuck out her tongue, catching a tiny snowflake on its tip. She giggled as she swallowed it.

"It's cold!" She laughed.

Stepping onto the road with her, I stretched out my gloved right hand, palm facing up. Two or three snowflakes landed there – but as soon as they did, they melted away, becoming a tiny puddle of water in my hand.

"It makes you think, doesn't it," I mused aloud. "It makes you think just how fragile the world is." I closed my fist.

"Steve?" Annie asked.

"Hmm?" I looked up, and to my surprise, she was right in front of me, grinning happily. Snow was piling up on her hair, giving her a little white crown.

"Shut up," she said – and with that, she reached up and kissed me. When she finally stepped back, I grinned at her.

"I could get used to that," I said. She punched me on my arm sharply.

"You'd better learn how to kiss better first!" She cried. I gaped at her.

"What, I'm not a good kisser?"

"Hell no! I've kissed much better than you!"

"Wha – wait, I wasn't your first kiss?!"

"How else do you think I got so good at it?"

"But… who the hell else have you kissed?!"

Annie just laughed at me, and began running down the street.

"That's for me to know, Steve!" She cried over her shoulder.

"Hey – wait!" I cried after her – and so we raced each other back to the hotel, laughing and throwing small snowballs at each other.

----

"Don't bother taking your coats off," Perri's voice called from the kitchenette as soon as Annie and I stepped back into our rooms. "We're going out again."

"Where are we going?" Annie asked as Perri stepped out from behind the counter, pulling on her own jacket. She grinned that all too crazy cat-grin of hers.

"If you do recall, I was forced to leave all my weapons back in Ireland. We are simply going somewhere to… restock." She headed towards the door, picking up her canvas backpack from its usual spot on the couch as she went.

"Restock? But it's snowing outside, if you hadn't noticed! And snow usually means _cold_. You don't want me to get sick again, do you, Perri?" I asked her. She looked at me sideways and rolled her eyes.

"It's not that far away. And you're a strong, healthy boy – you'll live."

And so back outside we went, following Perri's short, black-blue-silver head as she made her way through the town, oblivious to the snow that was falling around her. Annie and I walked several feet behind her, our hands brushing.

There was no one else on the roads as we walked, except for the occasional car, leaving the world in a white peaceful quiet, making it seem almost like Christmas. It was with a jolt that I remembered that it _was_ almost Christmas.

_I'll have to get a job. Just to buy presents._Mentally, I pulled a face.

I didn't really pay attention to how long we walked for. It was quite a long time, though, because I was getting almost uncomfortably warm in my coat, beanie and scarf by the time Perri brought us down an alley behind a random, abandoned-looking car repair garage.

Without hesitating, she stepped up to a metal door and knocked loudly on it three times.

There was no answer.

She waited several moments, then knocked again.

Once more, there was no answer.

Perri raised her hand, about to knock one more time, when a slot in the door opened.

"_Wer__ ist es?_" A male voice asked.

Annie and I exchanged glances.

"Why does this remind me of a corny spy movie?" Annie whispered to me.

"_Es ist ich, Peregrine Walters."_ Perri answered.

"A _very_ corny spy movie," Annie whispered.

"_Eine__ Sekunde, bitte,"_ the voice said. There was a moment of silence. And then the door swung open with a loud screech, revealing darkness. "_Kommen__ Sie herein."_

Perri looked back at us, grinning slightly.

"Come on, what are you two afraid of?" She asked, and stepped into the darkness beyond the door.

"Afraid of minions randomly appearing out of nowhere intent on killing us in a bloody ambush," I grumbled miserably, and as one, we followed her.

As soon as we stepped into the room, the door swung shut behind us, and the room was swamped with sudden light. We were standing in a small hall of some kind, all metal and rust. Perri was nowhere in sight. Standing behind the door, next to the light switch, was a grinning young man who looked vaguely familiar…

"Hey, aren't you the baker from the other day?" Annie asked. The man smiled cheerfully.

"Ja, I am Christoph," he said cheerfully in his horribly accented English. "Apprentice baker by day, apprentice weapon smith by night. Please, follow me. Ms. Walters has already gone through."

Quietly, he slipped past us and walked down the, opening a door. He poked his head through. A blast of loud music wafted through the crack.

"Kurt, Ms. Walters has some guests as well," he called. We couldn't hear the reply, thanks to the music, but Christoph turned around and gestured for us to follow him. And so we did.

When we stepped through the doorway, we found ourselves in a cramped garage, several tables set under low lights. These metal tables were _covered_ in weapons of all shapes and sizes, some of them completely finished, others in the process of being made. Scattered around the room among shelves, workbenches and other tables were tools and bit and pieces– along the walls, hanging on hooks, were complete items, all of them beautifully made.

In one corner, a large computer system was set up, heavy trance music blaring from its speakers. In front of the computer, seated on a low computer chair, was a chubby man in grubby clothes, a scope-like item over one eye as he held an unfinished weapon in his hand. Perri stood next to him, arms crossed.

The man at the computer stood up, placing the weapon he was working on onto the desk, and walked forward, a hand outstretched. Christoph, meanwhile, snuck off, picking up what looked like a firearm at a distant table, and began to tinker with it.

"Hello there!" The chubby man shouted cheerfully over the music. I shook his hand. "I am Kurt Wagner – no, not the famous mutant – weapon smith extraordinaire!" He turned and shook Annie's hand next. I think he had bad hearing – everything about him was loud.

Kurt turned to Perri.

"So, what were you looking for, my good friend?!" He called over the music. She shot a dark glance at the speakers, then pulled a face at Kurt.

"Couldn't you turn the music down, Wagner?!" She cried. His eyes widened, as if shocked.

"What?! Turn down Aura, the Source of Trance?! You speak blasphemous words, Peregrine Walters!" He cried, but he obliged, turning down the music so that it was only a low hum in the background. He turned back to Perri, rubbing his hands together. "Now. What were you looking for again?"

"The usual, Kurt, though I wouldn't mind two extra bowcasters," she said, placing her bag onto a table she was standing next to. "As well as close-range weapons that these two can use." She flicked her head in our direction.

Kurt turned towards us, studying us carefully.

"Hrmm. She looks like she has a lot of speed to her, but not a great deal of strength. So we all know what that means!"

"Actually, I don't know what that means," Annie said blankly. He smiled at her.

"Obviously, you are not a video game player. The fast and speedy types always get the daggers." Then this curious little man turned to me, hands on hips. He rubbed his nose as if in thought. "Him, however… he is a tricky one. He could be good with a sword, a good pair of knuckles or claws, even an axe – but he looks strong in both arms. He could probably use two weapons at the same time."

Kurt paused, making a small rumbling sound. Then he looked around his room, a frown on his ruddy face.

"Where did I put it…?"

We watched as he slowly waddled through the garage, peeking under tools and up into shelves. Finally, when he had disappeared from view behind a particularly full shelf, he found what he was looking for.

"Aha!" His voice sailed out to us. He emerged several minutes later, in one hand holding up what looked like a short sword, held in a sheath. In his other hand he had several daggers, all of them held in a pair of old fashioned bracers. "These are for you," he said, tossing the daggers over to Annie. She caught them deftly, her eyes wide. "And this, my friend, is for you."

Kurt came to a stop before me, holding out the sword. Gently, I lifted it from his grip, and pulled the sword from its sheath with a loud, cliché hiss. Holding it in my right hand, I hefted the blade, studying its curious shape – one edge was serrated, jagged and dangerous looking. I gaped.

"I suggest you learn how to use these weapons before you run headfirst into a fight, though," Kurt said, sniffing. He glanced at Annie. "They go around your wrists. If you have the ties loose, the daggers fall out easily, giving you easy access. You should probably practice throwing knives, by the way."

Soon, we had a large amount of weapons between the three of us – Kurt had given Annie additional daggers, all to put in various places, while I myself received a long hunting knife. Perri was given another pair of axes. Kurt also supplied us with three 'bowcasters' (which I later found out was Star Wars talk for 'crossbows') and a large supply of bolts.

Finally, he stepped back to survey his work.

"Wow. You look like you're about to go to war," he said with a whistle. He cocked his head to the side, his expression innocently curious. "Still looking for him, are ya, Perri?"

"Indeed I am." She said shortly. She began heading towards the door, her canvas bag now filled to the brim. "You know where to bill it to."

And with that, she had stepped through the door and was gone.

Kurt chuckled.

"Now there goes a woman who has permanent PMS."

----

Annie and I had another shower together that night. Even though I had been lectured about it that morning, we couldn't help it – I finally succumbed to Annie and her pestering ('petting'), and we were at it again, however awkward it was in the shower.

When we were done, we stood together, allowing the warm shower water to run down over our bare bodies. Annie rested her head against my chest, allowing me to wrap my arms around her.

"Steve…?" She said quietly. I looked down at her in answer. "I…I'm scared."

Gently, she pushed herself off of me, her blue-green eyes huge in her small face. They were filled with terror.

"Why? Annie, what's wrong?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I… I don't know what's wrong. But, I, I've got this, I don't know, feeling, and it won't go away," she said softly, looking down. I placed my hand under her chin and gently lifted her face, so that I could see her.

"Tell me, Annie."

"It's… Well… I don't…" She stopped, biting her lip. Then finally she said it. "Something bad. Something bad is going to happen. Something _very_ bad. I can _feel_ it."

Her eyes went wide again.

"I'm so scared, Steve."

The terror in her eyes made me feel terrified too, though I had no idea why. At a loss, I wrapped her in my arms, holding her close to me.

"It's all right, Annie," I told her, stroking her wet hair. "It's all right. I'm here. I'll always be here."

She said something, something so soft that I almost couldn't hear it under the hiss of the running water.

"But that's it, Steve. You won't be here."

----

By the time we finished our shower, Perri was standing at the doorway, her hand on the doorknob. I could tell by the bulkiness of her coat that she was armed to the teeth.

Almost sheepishly, she stepped back from the door, and grinned. But it wasn't a true Perri grin. It was shaky. It was unsure.

It was scared.

Great. Not her too.

"Hey, I thought I talked to you about that this morning," she said softly. I noted that her voice cracked slightly.

"Where are you planning on going?" Annie asked. She had also noticed Perri's weapons and uneasy manner. Perri shrugged.

"I'm just… going out for a walk."

"What, wearing your crossbow and axes? Somehow, I don't think you're just going on a walk," Annie retorted. I looked down at her, surprised by her sudden anger. Perri looked away, as if unable to look at us straight.

"You're going to find the vampaneze, aren't you?" I said softly. She looked up at me through her eyelashes. I could see her eyes were teary for the second time today. Mutely, she nodded.

"Well, wait there. I'm coming with you," I said promptly, and started towards the bedroom in order to get my clothes.

"No."

I stopped and turned. Perri was still standing in the same spot, her hands clenched.

"You can't come with me, Steve. This is my fight."

Her whole body was shaking.

"I don't care if this is your fight, Peregrine, I am going with you," I said, gritting my teeth. "It's suicidal to go by yourself."

"Maybe that's why I'm doing it then," she said softly.

"Look," Annie piped up, putting her hands on her hips. "If Steve's going, then so am I."

"_No!_" Perri and I said at the same time. Annie blinked.

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because you can't fight anywhere near as well as Perri and me," I growled. "And plus, I don't want you to get hurt."

At the door still, Perri sighed heavily.

"Look, I'm going by myself, and that's final. Don't come looking for me. Don't follow me. And…" She opened the door, stepping out into the hall. She didn't turn back. "Goodbye."

And with that, Perri closed the door and was gone. There was a click as the lock turned.

Annie and I stared at the door. I swore briefly, then turned around to punch the doorframe several times. Seconds later, my aggression released, I slipped down and sat on the floor, shifting so that my back was against the wall.

Annie remained where she was, hugging herself slightly. Then she quickly threw her dirty clothes back on, grabbed her many daggers and crossbow, and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked from my spot on the ground. She paused, her hand on the doorknob.

"I'm going to follow her. I won't let her fight those vamps by herself."

I sighed, dropping my head. Then I stood up slowly, reaching for my own clothes and weapons.

"Wait for me. I'm coming too."

----

**A.N** Bleh. I do not like this chapter, Sam I am. I do not like it, I do not like green eggs and ham.

-pulls a face-

However… the fun stuff happens after this! Mwuahahaha!

And by the by, I leave on an airplane to the Philippines next Monday, so I don't think I'll be able to get the next chappy up by then. Ehehehehe. Oh well. The Kurda fic will be updated every day. Hehe. Tis fun. Yaoi-yummy-ness. XD

Scarlet Black: I know! We need more Kurda! Damn you, Darren! EVIL PERSON! –growls-

Die Kikyo Die: Hehe, if you haven't already checked your e-mail, do so. I sent you the answer. Also, some others have been kind enough to supply the answer in their reviews. XD Aren't they lovely people?

**----**

**Next Chapter:**

**Seventeen: Susan's House**

_There was a hiss of movement as the vampaneze's hand flashed past my cheek – I winced as his nails cut deep through my flesh, drawing blood._

_I jumped back, raising my sword and rattling my length of chain as a warning, muscles tensed, ready for the vamp's next attack. _

_But he didn't attack._

_The vampaneze was looking at his hand, almost in wonder. Then he slowly lifted it, his tongue flickering out of his mouth. And then I realised: he was tasting the blood on his hands. _My _blood_.

_"Your blood," he said softly in his German accented voice, closing his eyes as he licked his hand again. It was almost as if he enjoyed the taste. "It is so… good. So tainted. So_ evil_."_


	19. Seventeen: Susan's House

**---- **

**Seventeen: Susan's House **

**----**

The world was a pristine crystalline white, completely blanketed both visually and audibly by a cover of snow. The sky was darker than ever, the white roads lit by the ornate though dim streetlamps that adorned the sidewalks every few dozen metres.

By the time Annie and I got outside, the street was completely devoid of life. No people, no cars, not even a stray cat scavenging through the bins.

And definitely no tiny Australian.

The air was silent. Heavy.

It was anticipating… something.

Shivering, Annie pressed herself against me, hugging herself against the cold as she looked around.

"How are we supposed to follow her?" She asked softly, her breath clouding in the freezing air. I didn't answer, frowning as I thought.

Then a thought hit me, something I remembered from my early childhood days when Darren and I would play hide and seek – or our version of it, Monsters – out in the snow.

I glanced down.

In the snow, lightly printed, was a set of footprints, heading off towards the left.

Smiling, I pointed to the ground.

"We follow her prints," I said happily, then turned to walk away. Annie grabbed my arm, tugging me back.

"Wait," she said. I turned around, arching an eyebrow questioningly. She smiled apologetically, then pointed to the ground. "There's another set here."

Pulling a face, I followed her finger to find that she was right – there was another set of footprints, leading in the opposite direction of the first lot. I scowled at them, then kneeled down to inspect them. Finally, I shook my head, standing back up.

"No, it's the other set."

"How do you know?"

I pointed.

"There's paw prints next to these ones, like dog prints. Perri doesn't have a dog."

"The dog could have followed her," she pointed out. I was stumped for a second. Then I shook my head again.

"No. This person had huge feet. See?"

"…Oh yeah…"

The footprints led us down the street, in a direction that we knew would eventually lead towards the older, dirtier part of town. Over the time I had been travelling, through all the many towns I'd been through, there was always an old part of town, the part of town that was run-down and in disrepair, where murders and rapes went unchecked and random kids peeped out of alleyways to offer you random items, none of them legal. And, in my experience, that part of town is where the vamps always hide out.

It was so damned predictable. So, so mainstream, so cliché. I can't begin to describe all the books and comics and movies I've seen that are set in this part of town, but I have to admit, Hollywood got it right. For once.

We followed the footprints for quite some time, going deeper and deeper into the bad side of town, but not once did we see a person. I guess it was just too cold for even the most drugged-out dealer to be out trying to sell his wares. I didn't blame them. It was freezing point for magma outside, and I wasn't exaggerating – I mean, this is me we're talking about. I hated the cold. I wouldn't exaggerate.

The cold must have affected my concentration, because I didn't even notice Perri's prints disappear until Annie grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly.

"The prints have gone."

I blinked, and looked down. Sure enough, the small, steady boot prints we had been following had ended, with only my larger set going on a few steps further.

I frowned, confused.

"Where could she have gone…?"

I thought. How could someone just disappear like that, almost in mid-step? It was impossible! Unless… unless.

I slapped my forehead. Of course! It was so simple. One of Perri's Golden Rules of Hunting, even –

Always. Look. Up.

I looked up.

A metal staircase ran alongside the building we had been walking next to, running all the way to the roof.

With a smile, I pointed.

"She went up."

Annie scowled at the staircase, crossing her arms.

"Of course. How logical. She went _up_, didn't she? Just peachy." She growled.

I blinked, confused.

"What's wrong, Annie? Do you have a problem with heights or something?"

She glared at me so suddenly and so fiercely that I took a step back, afraid of her ferocity.

"No, Steve, of course I don't," she said sarcastically. "It's just that when I was younger, two _lovely_ boys I knew used to love _dangling_ me _upside down_ from the library window – four storeys up! Of course I don't have a problem with heights!"

I winced, grinning sheepishly.

"Hey, I'd forgotten all about that. That was fun, wasn't it?"

Her glare was my answer. I smiled, and shrugged.

"Fine. Suit yourself. You'd better wait for me back at the hotel then," I said, jumping up onto the metal staircase with a loud clang. I placed my foot onto the first step lightly, then glanced back down at Annie. She was still glaring at me. "You know, that's a bad handicap to have in this line of work. I've lost count of the amount of roof chases I've participated in."

"You've… chased someone on a roof?"

"Not just _a_ roof – a whole town of rooves!"

Annie gulped. Then, closing her eyes, she jumped up with me, and grabbed onto my arm, holding it tight.

"Okay, I'm coming up with you. If you fall, though, I'll never talk to you again."

"Aww, no snuggles for me ever again?"

"_Definitely_ no snuggles ever again."

By the time we had reached the top, I convinced Annie to open her eyes. She kept them open, but continued to hold on to my arm, her hands shaking violently – despite that, I had to admire her. I remembered she had a terrible fear of heights – thanks to Darren and myself – but here she was, fighting against it. It took a strong will to fight against something you were terrified of.

It was lucky that she had her eyes open, though, because she was the one that noticed the small silhouette kneeling on the roof about a dozen buildings in front of us, a dark brooding shadow against the glare of the moon above.

As silently as we could, we made our way towards the shadow that could only be Perri. Naturally, we made enough noise to wake up the neighbourhood – I slipped on a loose tile at one point, making Annie shriek in terror and quickly yank me back. I barely restrained myself from laughing – she saw the humour on my face, though, and slapped me hard.

Perri didn't move when we finally reached her, carefully sliding in on either side of her. She was sitting on a ledge of an old hotel, all wood and slanted rooves, the windows boarded up and the walls covered in graffiti. From her spot, she had the perfect view of another house – also old and boarded up, large and three storeys high with a gabled roof and what was once a picket fence blocking it away from the rest of the dark street.

It looked like it was straight from a horror film. Predictably. Why couldn't it have been a nice, one-storey family home in the middle of the day, with a nice mowed lawn and little trimmed poppy flowers? Oh wait, that's right. Wouldn't have gone in with the 'vampire/killing/death' themes so common in this damned story.

"I should've known," she said softly after a few moments. "I should've tried reverse psychology or something."

"We would've come anyway," Annie pointed out. Perri pulled a face.

"Of course. Bloody kids. Always hated them."

"Well, you love us and we love you, Perri, so get used to it."

"Meh."

"Shouldn't it be 'Bah, humbug'?"

"Shut up."

"Nope. So what's the low-down?"

"Don't go corny American cop movie on me."

"Fine then, what's the sitch?"

"…I don't even want to know what that's from."

"Disney's _Kim Po-_"

"Shut up right there."

"Yes mum."

"…Perri, explain please," I finally said, shivering against the cold. She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Why so brusque?"

I turned my head slightly so that I could glare at her.

"I'm sitting here, perched on the edge of the roof, freezing my -" insert obscenity here "- ass off just for you. I think that's reason enough to be 'brusque'."

"Again with the 'forking'. Anyway, it was your choice to be here – I said I didn't want you, remember? So no complaining."

"Just tell us."

"What do you think? Staking the house out. Watching for activity. So far I've seen no activity outside, but there has been movement on the inside of the house, visible through the boards. Naturally, I plan to find a weak spot, infiltrate the house, and kill all I can sink my axes into."

"Now that's a plan," I said dryly.

"Hey, you said yourself this was suicidal. Might as well make it a rampage. What did they call it in _Kill Bill_? Oh yes. A 'roaring rampage of revenge'. How poetic."

"Perri…" Annie said softly. Perri grunted.

"I don't like the tone of your voice so far."

"If we're going to go in and risk our lives with you, you might as well tell us why."

Perri was silent, her eyes never leaving the old, quiet house on the other side of the street. It was some time before she finally answered.

"The man I want to kill is in there. The thing that gave me this scar. The thing that ruined my life."

"And why do you want to kill him, dammit?"

"Didn't you hear what I said before?! Revenge!" Perri hissed, her fists clenching. "He killed something of mine, I kill him. Simple, right? Right. If you're coming with me, shut up and follow."

And with that, she grabbed the edge of the ledge and flipped straight off.

"_Perri_" Annie and I hissed at the same time, scrambling forward and peering over the edge. She was standing on an even smaller ledge that was once used as a window garden, glaring up at us.

"I'm not committing suicide yet, idiots. I've still got a bastard to kill, remember?"

Then she looked down and began her descent. Next to me, Annie scowled.

"Great. Now we go down."

"And down we shall go," I told her. "I'll go first then catch you."

Biting her lip, she nodded.

"Just don't slip, okay?"

"Okay."

By the time we reached the ground, Perri had scrambled across to the other side of the street, and was pressed against the few planks of wood that made up the fence. She was busily peering around the corner when we slipped beside her.

"Now what?" I whispered.

"Now we make a run for the basement window."

"Why there?"

"It's the only window that isn't boarded up. Have a look for yourself."

Quietly, I shuffled around her and peered around the corner. Just on the corner of the large house, right down on the ground, was a rectangular window. My face fell.

"How the hell am I supposed to get through there?"

Perri peered at me.

"We'll figure something out."

Then she was gone, running off towards the house. Annie and I watched as she pressed herself against the wall next to the window, glanced around –then brought her hand back and broke the window. All three of us winced at the same time as the glass shattered, tinkling onto the ground on the inside of the basement.

"As if they didn't hear _that_…" I growled. Annie just 'hmphed' beside me, and shifted her weight.

Perri was vigorously gesturing for us to join her. I nodded. Once she knew I would follow, she turned around and slipped through the window.

"Dammit, she's already gone in."

"We'd better hurry then."

Together, we ran to the house, keeping low to the ground in case any of the vampaneze decided to glance through the cracks of the boarded-up windows. Not that it would have mattered. They would have heard us already.

When we got to the window, I skidded to my knees and peered through. In the darkness, I could just see Perri's pale face looking up at me, a crooked cat-grin on her face.

"We'd never make it as cat burglars," I said. She shrugged.

"We're hunters, not burglars. There's a very subtle difference between the two."

"What's that?"

"Hunters like to make noise when they get closer to their prey."

"…that doesn't make sense."

"It wasn't meant to. Shut up and get down here."

I sighed and did as I was told, gently placing my gloved hands on the outside of the window frame and slipping in. It was a tight squeeze, but I _just_ managed it, landing softly onto the ground. Quickly, I turned around to help Annie down.

"Ouch!" She hissed loudly as soon as she put her hands on the frame. She pulled her right hand back – there was a long, irregular cut along the palm of her hand. She swore at it, then slipped down between Perri and me.

"You could've cleaned it out a bit, Perri!" She growled. Perri shrugged, grabbing on of her daggers and cutting off the bottom of her jumper.

"Just wrap this around it for now," she said softly, holding out the raggedy bit of black material. Annie rolled her eyes and wrapped the cloth around her shaking hand, muttering something under her breath.

Meanwhile, I searched the small basement for – well, anything at all. It was empty, except for the dust and a few lengths of chain scattered around the room, while an old-looking wooden staircase was set in the corner, leading up to a closed door. With a grin, I leaned over and picked one chain up, hefting the heavy length of metal. It made a loud clinking sound as it swung.

"Just like a bikie," I grinned, glancing back over towards the girls. Perri was smiling crookedly again.

"A bikie, eh? I was a bikie once. Much fun. Let's go."

She began up the staircase, at the same time slipping her two small axes from their spot, in the back of her jeans. I was next, still holding my chain in my left hand, my evil-looking sword in the other. Annie came last, one dagger clutched in her shaking hands.

Perri reached the door. Slowly, she looked back at us, and held up three fingers. She dropped one. Then two. As the last finger dropped, she slowly turned the doorknob.

The door creaked open.

Almost as perfectly as a soldier, Perri threw herself through the door in an army roll and straightened on her knees, her axes held before her in a defensive position. Annie and I tumbled in after her, a little less spectacularly, but you got the basic idea. We glanced around wildly, our bodies tense, ready and waiting for the vampaneze to leap out at us –

But nothing came.

"…I thought you said you saw activity inside…" Annie growled.

"I did," Perri growled back. "They're in hiding."

Movement flashed in the corner of my eye. In a flash, I whirled around to face it, my sword held before me.

The figure stepped forward, a deeper darkness in the darkness that surrounded us. As my eyes continued to adjust to the lack of light, I was able to see that this shadow was somewhat shorter than me, wearing an overlarge black hooded jumper, hands hidden away in the front pockets. I couldn't see the person's face.

"Perri," I hissed. As one, the person and Perri snapped their faces towards each other. There seemed to be a hesitation – and then the figure disappeared, fading into the darkness almost as quickly as it appeared.

"What the hell was that all about?" I growled.

"I don't know, but I didn't like it," Perri told me, pushing passed me and walking in the direction the shadow disappeared to. "Come on."

"Perri, did it ever occur to you that the activity you saw could've been ghosts…?" Annie whispered behind me. I glanced at her, then reached my left hand out.

"Come on," I said softly. She took my hand with her right one, and together we followed Perri, never letting our guard down.

With the exception of the strange person, we didn't see a single sign of life throughout all the rooms we looked through. It was a large house, hugely in need of looking after, and yet wherever we looked, we could see no sign of anything. We did find several holes in the wooden flooring, however, especially when I fell through said holes.

We had almost completely searched the whole lower level when it happened.

We were in the largest room, which we had already searched to no success. While figuring out what to do next, something creaked loudly near us.

"…what was that?" Annie asked in a small voice.

"Isn't it obvious, little girl?" A voice asked from the darkness. It was a low, rich voice, the accent heavily German. "It was a loose wooden plank, creaking under the weight of a clumsy vampaneze."

"I recognise that voice," Perri growled, her hands tightening around the handles of her axes. "I _know_ that damned voice."

"Of course you do, _meine__ leibling_ – yet I almost did not recognise _you_," the voice said, this time from behind us. We whirled around, only to find more darkness.

"Come out, you coward!" Perri yelled.

"You have not grown much in the way of height," the voice continued, once again from a different spot, "but you seem to be much stronger, both physically and mentally. And _meine__ Gott!_ Your hair is different too!"

"Show yourself, dammit!" She yelled.

And then suddenly, there he was, standing close behind Perri, one hand wrapping itself around her waist, the only hand holding her chin. One long-nailed thumb stroked her tattoo as he pressed his face against hers.

The vampaneze was tall and lean, though his muscles were clearly shown through the material of his shirt despite the darkness. His hair was long and pure snow white though his long, stern face was fairly young. His skin, like all vampaneze, was blotched purple, his eyes a deep, dark crimson red.

"Now this… this has also changed… Last I recall, you had three very special scars on this cheek, my little falcon…"

"Perri!" I yelled, jumping forward and hefting my sword. At the same moment, Perri yanked herself from the vamp's grip, stumbling forward.

The vampaneze's eyes flashed towards me. Then in one practised move, he stepped forward and to the side – and grabbed my throat.

It was a sensation I hadn't felt in a long time. As he lifted me up, a sneer printed over his blotched face, I felt his strong hand closing in on my throat, making my air passage tighten painfully. I gave a strangled cry, my face contorting in pain, but I didn't let go of my weapons.

"_Steve!_" Annie cried.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the vamp said, glancing over to Perri. "Your apprentice is feisty." And with that, he released me, tossing me several metres away as easily as if I were the proverbial rag doll. I landed on the ground, gasping for breath. Annie was at my side in moments, making sure I was okay. Seconds later, I was back on my feet, tilting my head from side to side to crack the bones in my neck, ready for action.

That was when I noticed we had more friends to play with.

They had appeared almost soundlessly – or maybe they were always there – all grinning wickedly and swinging their weapons in classic street brawler fashion. Slinking in the background, as if trying to hide behind the others, was the small black shadow we had seen before.

I did a quick count as Perri joined us, the three of us making a tight circle.

Twenty-two.

"I like our odds," I said. Perri snorted.

"I wouldn't bet on these odds even if would save the world," she hissed back. "But I'm sticking with my plan. Just remember – Marcus is mine."

"Which one's Marcus?" Annie asked. If she could have, Perri would have glared at her.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Just making sure."

"It's been… how long, Peregrine? Eight years?" Marcus was saying, stepping towards us calmly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Eleven, actually," she growled in reply. He shrugged carelessly, waving the number away.

"Time matters not when you have hundreds of years to live."

"Too bad your life ends _tonight_!" Perri spat. Marcus snorted, coming to a stop before her.

"So young, yet so full of anger," he said softly, then shook his head. "A pity."

He stepped back and gave a shrill whistle. Within microseconds, they were upon us, a screeching, mauling mass of purple and red. By right, we, three simple humans, had no chance of winning against twenty-odd fully blooded vampaneze. But we were going to fight, and fight we did. We fought with everything we had.

I slashed and swung, hacked and thwacked, quickly loosing sight of the other two in the press. The vamps were so closely pressed together that it was almost impossible for them to lash out without accidentally hitting one of their allies. That was good for me, though. Everywhere I swung my sword, I struck purple flesh, and soon had a small circle of space around me, the vamps too wary to get in range of my chain and sword.

And then, as suddenly as things happen in all fights, I was facing Marcus, my chest heaving from exertion. The tall man was looking down at me calmly, his hands still clasped behind his back.

"Ah," he said. "The feisty apprentice."

There was a hiss of movement as the vampaneze's hand flashed past my cheek – I winced as his nails cut deep through my flesh, drawing blood.

I jumped back, raising my sword and rattling my length of chain as a warning, muscles tensed, ready for the vamp's next attack.

But he didn't attack.

Marcus was looking at his hand, almost in wonder. Then he slowly lifted it, his tongue flickering out of his mouth. And then I realised: he was tasting the blood on his hands. _My_ blood.

"Your blood," he said softly in his German accented voice, closing his eyes as he licked his hand again. It was almost as if he enjoyed the taste. "It is so… good. So tainted. So _evil_."

"I'm not _evil!_" I yelled, and leaped forward, my sword slashing savagely across his body. He simply stepped out of the way, sending me almost sprawling into the wall.

"Oh," he said, cocking his head to the side, smiling slightly. "I believe I've struck a nerve."

"_STEVE!"_

My head whipped around to find a struggling Annie getting lifted into a fireman's lift and thrown over someone's shoulders – on the other side of the room, the same was happening to an unconscious Perri, blood trickling from a wound on her scalp.

"Annie!" I yelled.

A palm slammed into my chest with enough force to wind me completely and send me flying into the wall once more. I struck the plaster, making it crack under my weight, then slid to the ground, my body absolutely screaming in agony. Somehow, though, I managed to stand up, pushing myself up off the ground and swaying on my feet. The corners of my vision began to blur in an all too familiar way.

Marcus' smirking face swam before me, and he stepped forward, gripping the front of my jacket. My knees gave way, yet he still was able to support me, his face close to mine.

"I can sense something in you, _Herr_ Feisty. A want for revenge. A want for power. I can give you these things. I can give you everything you ever wanted. But first, you have to find us. Find us," he said, and stepped back, pushing me away from him. I teetered on my feet, trying to find my balance. "Find us, _Herr _Feisty, and you will have _everything_. You have twenty-four hours. After that, there is no telling what my boys will do to the ladies."

And with that, he turned around and walked away. I collapsed to my knees, my whole head spinning. Dimly, I was aware of the small shadow in black kneel in front of me. Slowly, a small, pale white hand reached forward to touch my face. The shadow looked up. In that split second, I saw his face.

And then I collapsed completely.

While I was in the world of darkness, it wasn't a pair of blue-green eyes that kept me company.

Despite the fact that the face that held them was young, the eyes were ancient and wise, brown, round and full of a deep, terrible sadness, as if they were born with the sadness, and it was buried deep within their core. They say that eyes are a mirror of the soul – if that was so, then this soul was the epitome of pathos.

This soul was completely filled with tragedy.

**----**

**A.N** Hey! I'm still in the Philippines as I post this! Mmm, yummy, Toblerones… ehehehe… My aunty gave me two large Toblerones for my birthday… XD I feel spekal.

By the way, I've written pieces of the next chapter. It's so FUN! Mwuahaha. I love that character. XD He's sho kyute. XDXD Poor Steve. He is feeling a little overwhelmed by these two…. Ehehehehehe….

Well, I _was_ in the Philippines when I typed that. I'm home now – yayness! Hehehe! By the way, **Delico** – damn you. You've given me inspiration. There shall be another Daegan story. Evil person you.

**Die Kikyo Die:** Darren action, hmmm? Okay. There will be some. But not in this story, nor in the way you'll probably like… XD

**----**

**Next Chapter: **

**Nineteen: ****To Hell We Ride**

_I slid to the ground, one hand still on the wall, the other supporting me. My cheeks were wet with tears that I hadn't noticed appear, spilling down onto the ground in fat, heavy drips. My nose ran._

_"Damn, damn, damn!" I groaned. _

_"It's not the end of the world, you know," a voice said._

_I sprang to my feet, my hands going up in a defensive position. _

_"Who's there?" I asked, glancing around frantically. _

_"My name is of no concern," the voice continued. It was young, but at the same time ancient. It had the quality of a rusted bell – once loud, cheerful and musical, now rusted away to a small, dry sound, monotonous and sad. Then the person stepped into view._

_It was the hooded stranger._


	20. Eighteen: To Hell We Ride

**----**

**A.N** Wheee. Beware. Much more sexual/adult conversations/jokes in this chapter. Only they're of the homosexual kind. Ehehehehe. So fun. XD Oh dear, I added another character at the last minute… but he's only ever said a few sentences, and I fell in love with him, so I must see him again before tragedy befalls that little party… T.T

**----**

**Eighteen: To Hell We Ride**

**----**

Alone.

An empty plain, the sky blood red, the four moons shining down their strange coloured light onto the world. Blue-green and brown – very strangely coloured moons indeed, but moons they were.

Walking. Stumbling. The ground beneath parched and cracked, hard as stone in some places yet soft as sand in others.

A rumbling.

Look up.

In the distance, a cloud…

A shadow.

A dark shadow.

One in front. The darkest shadow of them all. The largest. The strongest.

Then Annie. Standing before me. Reaching for me. Pointing at something.

Turn around.

Perri.

Terrifyingly angry.

Duck as she swings a punch towards me.

"Wake up, ass!" Her voice echoes. "You have to save us!"

Wake up.

Alone.

----

Pain raced through my body, a blunt, heavy feeling that weighed me down. I groaned loudly and rolled over, only to cough painfully when I found my face in a pile of dust.

Spluttering, I sat up and rubbed my head.

I was in a dark room. On the hard floor. For a second, I had no idea where I was.

And then…

And then…

I checked my watch. It was four in the afternoon. We had gone into the house at three in the morning…

With a loud cry of frustration, I jumped to my feet, whirled around, and began punching the wall.

"God_dammit_" I yelled, continuing to bash a hole through the wall. I felt the skin on my knuckles break under my gloves, but I didn't stop – I kept punching away, my anger and frustration completely filling me. In fact, I couldn't stop, as if some strange force had taken over me and turned me berserk.

And then the rage released me, my head clearing enough for me to realise that there was blood welling up underneath my gloves, making my hands feel hot and sticky.

With a load gush that sounded more like a groan than a sigh, I slid to the ground, one hand still on the wall, the other supporting me. My cheeks were wet with tears that I hadn't noticed appear, spilling down onto the ground in fat, heavy drips. My nose ran.

"Damn, damn, damn!" I groaned.

"It's not the end of the world, you know," a voice said.

I sprang to my feet, my hands going up in a defensive position.

"Who's there?" I asked, glancing around frantically.

"My name is of no concern," the voice continued. It was young, but at the same time ancient. It had the quality of a rusted bell – once loud, cheerful and musical, now rusted away to a small, dry sound, monotonous and sad. There was something missing, too – the accent was odd. It sounded familiar, but at the same time, there were elements of the accent that were not supposed to mix together – a stressed 'r' here, a drawn out vowel there, a roll of the tongue somewhere else. But the main part sounded so… so like someone else's accent, someone who I'd grown so used to that I hardly noticed the difference of it…

Then the person stepped into view.

It was the hooded stranger.

"You!" I hissed, tensing up. The figure inclined his head in what I guess was a nod. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up. Now that you have, I can hand you your weapons back." Almost immediately, the person was directly in front of me, holding out my sword and chain in one strong, pale white hand.

"The chain isn't mine," I said blankly.

"It is a good weapon, though. With a bit of practice, you could become very deadly with it. And it is not as suspicious as a large sword hanging by your side."

"How so?"

"It can always pass off as an accessory, albeit a large one. You do have the whole 'gothic punk' appearance to you. Especially with that grey hair."

Eyeing the figure warily, I snatched my weapons back, slipping the sword back into its hilt and looping the chain through my jeans, like a belt. The whole time, the figure just watched me, never talking or moving.

"Now what?" I asked. Cloth rustled – I think the figure was looking away.

"You have less than twelve hours to find Perri."

"I know that!"

"Do you even know where to look?"

This time it was my turn to look away.

"No."

The person took a step backwards.

"Go back to the place of the wise one. The answer is there."

"'The place of the…' What the hell?" I asked. The figure's shoulders drooped.

"Just find the place of the wise one." The figure turned to walk away, but at the last minute he turned back slightly to peer over his shoulder at me. There was a slash of pale against the darkness – his face. "You might want to have a shower and grab a bite to eat before you go. Sugar is always good. Sugar equals instant energy."

And with that, he was gone.

For some reason, the last thing he said rang in my ears, as if I had heard it somewhere before, from someone much different, from a time long ago.

I groaned.

"What the hell was all that about?"

----

Three hours later, I was pacing back and forth in the hotel room so furiously that I almost began to wear away the carpet. My hair – which was _not_ going grey, thank you very much – was still wet from the shower I had just had. I was munching away at a chicken dumpling – on the floor around me were crunched up packets of other food, mostly dumplings and doughnuts.

"'The place of the wise one…'" I mumbled, deep in thought. "Where else had we been?"

Now that I was refreshed and energised, my mind could work at its normal speed. However, no matter how hard I could think, I couldn't work out what the little hooded figure had meant.

"A wise one… seers were considered wise… a seer was like an oracle, or a fortune teller…" I mused, my mind ticking away. "In some societies, they were highly honoured…"

Crunching up the scrap of paper, I threw it over my shoulder and collapsed onto the couch, glaring down at the ground.

"Highly honoured… who were highly honoured…?"

For the first time in my whole life, I wished I had paid attention in ancient history.

The next half an hour, all I did was think, swapping between pacing and sitting, thinking so hard that my head began to hurt. I knew the answer – I _knew_ I knew the answer – but it stayed at the back of my brain as all things did, refusing to come out of its little crease.

But for some strange reason, my mind wouldn't tell me the answer, holding it back and instead wandering back to the events of two nights ago… pounding music… the world coloured strangely green and black… Annie in front of me, her eyes crinkled in mischief…

"_I'd heard it means 'hermaphrodite'…"_ Perri's voice whispered in my ear.

Something in my head clicked, like a switch turning on the light bulb that appeared above my head.

With a load groan, I slapped my forehead.

"Of course!" I cried. "He said he'd be there all week!" As I reached for my jacket, I paused, frowning. "But what do hermaphrodites have to do with being wise?"

----

I counted every minute I wasted getting to the nightclub. For some reason, time was everything to me – maybe it was because I was given a twenty-four hour limit, and I had already wasted sixteen of those precious hours. I never said I was the punctual type.

It took me thirty-two minutes to get to the nightclub, and a further seventeen and a half to get inside. Once I was in, however, I strode straight up the stairs, and walked straight over to the blonde man sitting alone in his booth, sipping at a drink. He didn't look up when I approached.

"Where is he?!" I growled, slamming my hands onto the table. Kurda Smahlt looked up at me, almost innocently.

"Hello to you too, Steve. Who are you looking for?" He asked. I growled, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him to his feet.

"You know bloody well who I mean, dammit!"

"No, I don't quite think…"

I shook him, my arms shaking with the effort. People around us were beginning to stare.

"Marcus, dammit! Where the hell is Marcus?!"

"Is everything all right, Kurda?" A new voice asked, and another man stepped into view, looking tense. I glared at him from the corner of my eyes, my hands never leaving Kurda's collar.

"Who're you?' I growled.

"Steve, I'd like you to meet Daegan," Kurda said, not in the least worried that I was attempting to lift him from the ground. "My assistant and closest companion."

I inspected the newcomer. He glared at me right back, his brightly green eyes never leaving mine. Despite his lack of height and elfin appearance, every part of his small body simmered with aggression, as if he was determined to protect Kurda no matter what.

And then it hit me.

Maybe it had something to do with the styled-look of his wavy sand-coloured hair. Or his almost 'cute' appearance. The almost protective 'purr' as he said Kurda's name. Or the fact that his button down shirt was largely unbuttoned to show off his bare chest, he was wearing leather pants - and was standing in a way that vaguely reminded me of the way Perri and Annie stood.

Or maybe it was all of that. Either way, I knew he was about as straight as a circle.

Oh dear.

I glanced from Daegan to Kurda.

He was his 'closest companion'.

I felt sick.

Shoving Kurda away, I stepped back, shaking my head.

"God, I'm dealing with a pair of gay vampires."

"Got a problem with that?" Daegan asked, stepping forward, but Kurda put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"That's enough, Elf," he said softly. "He needs our help."

Daegan glared at me. Then he backed down, stepping closer to Kurda and looking away. In an instant his aggression disappeared, replaced by what seemed like meekness.

"Of course. Sorry."

"'Elf'?" I snickered. Daegan – 'Elf' – stepped forward once more, his hands bunching up into fists.

"You little…"

"Daegan…" Kurda said softly, barely audible over the heavy beat of the music. Once more, he shot a dark look my way then backed down, his hands lowering to his sides.

"I don't understand why we're helping him anyway," I heard him say softly. Kurda looked at him and replied, so quietly that I didn't hear what he said, but I was certain he said the name 'Marcus'. Whatever it was cleared it up for Daegan, because he didn't say a thing afterwards.

A man of Arnold Schwarzenegger proportions sidled up, his muscles threatening to burst from underneath his green muscle shirt, the word 'Sicherheit' boldly emblazoned on the front. The white letters shone in the eerie light – it wasn't hard for me to guess he was a bouncer.

The bouncer took one look at the three of us, decided we were foreigners, and said in slow, pronounced, surprisingly good English:

"Take your problems outside, _bitte_."

I couldn't help but glare at the muscle-bound bouncer. He glared right back, his beady eyes twinkling in the strobe lights. Kurda, however, smiled at the man, grabbed his glass from the table, tipped it in a salute, and then sculled it in one gulp. Then he turned to Daegan.

"Let's go, then," he said cheerfully, and glanced at me, the cheer never leaving his blue eyes. "Are you coming, Steve?"

Then he was off, disappearing into the crowd towards the entrance. Daegan followed soon after, sending me a dirty look. With a dejected sigh, I glared at the bouncer once more, and followed the two vampires. All the way to the exit, I felt his beady eyes burning into my back, as if to make sure I knew never to come back with problems in 'Zwitter' ever again.

Bastard.

----

It took me another twenty-four minutes and thirteen seconds to actually get Kurda to stop. I know. I was counting the time.

"Where are we going?" I asked, reaching forward and gripping the vampire's elbow. He stopped, a half-smile creeping onto his chilly features.

"You've wasted enough time moping already, Steve," he said simply. "Where did you think I was taking you?"

I glanced around. We were in what looked like an industrial area, mainly warehouses and containers. More stereotypical settings. I noticed, to our left, was a railing, the type that seals off a large drain way, also known as a half-pipe by those who liked to skate. Several metres ahead, there was a break in the rails, stairs nestled between them to lead down to the pipe below.

I released his arm and glanced once more at my watch.

"How long will it take us to get there?"

Kurda and Daegan exchanged amused looks. I felt irritated.

"Why, we're already there."

I blinked. Kurda just smiled and shrugged.

"Follow me, Steve." Then he strode forward and descended the stairs, disappearing into the night.

I went to follow Kurda, but before I could, Daegan stepped in my path. I could have easily pushed him out of the way – had he not been a vampire.

"If anything happens to Kurda down there because of you…" he trailed off, supposedly leaving me to think of whatever threat I wanted.

"What, you'll make me watch a gay porn movie with you?" I growled. I paused, then leaned forward slightly, squinting in the flickering light of the broken street lamp. "Are you wearing eyeliner?"

Daegan glared at me for a second, then he glanced away.

"Shut up. It brings my eye colour out." He looked up, frowning slightly, a triumphant look in his eye. "You're meant to be a macho guy – how the hell do you know what eyeliner is?"

"…I've lived with three different women during the course of my life, and two of them love dark, heavy makeup. Shut up."

"Steve, are you coming?" Kurda called.

"I hope to hell you're asking if I'm following and not anything else, Kurda!" I called back.

"Don't make me come back up there!"

"Come right ahead, Kurda," Daegan piped up from behind me.

"Oh, god, enough with the 'come's already!" I cried.

"…homophobe."

"Yes, I am, and proud to be too. Just be happy that you're a vampire, otherwise I'd be bashing your faggoty little ass here and now."

"…sorry, Steve, but you're too young for me, even if you have grey hair. The premature hair colour thing… it's just not my type. And anyway, this isn't exactly the best of places for _that_ sort of behaviour, is it?"

I threw my hands up in the air in defeat.

"Goddammit, I give up already! Just take me to the damned place, will you?"

Daegan smirked, folding his arms.

"I don't think I should let you pass if you're going to be that grateful."

I stepped forward, grabbing a handful of his loose shirt.

"Look, you little asshole…"

He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. I didn't like that little smile on his face. It made me feel uneasy. I understood why the next second.

"Now, is that your sword or are you just that happy to see me?" He asked evilly, and looked down to exaggerate his point.

I dropped him, groaned loudly, and bashed my head against the telegraph pole next to us.

"I'll lead, Steve, you're in the middle, and Daegan can bring up the rear. Please don't share your dirty thoughts with us, Elf." Kurda called. He had climbed the stairs again and was looking at us, clearly amused.

"Awww…"

"Yes, I'd enjoy that too, but I'm sure Steve wouldn't appreciate it."

I jumped away from the pole to look at Kurda bewilderedly. "What?!"

"What's wrong now Steve?"

"A lot of things! I don't want him staring at my ass the whole time, for one!"

"Hey, I worked as a dock worker once, watching overweight men bend over and show off their ass cracks all day long. Do you think I enjoyed that? Please. There's only one ass _I_ go for, and quite frankly, I don't want _you_ staring at it all the way along!"

"…Oh God, that was just too much unwanted information."

"You 'assed' for it."

"Oh, that was hilarious, Daegan. Clap clap."

"Yes, I thought you'd enjoy it, Steve."

"Steve," Kurda called. I turned to look at him. He was still standing on the stairs, leaning on the rail. "Did Peregrine ever tell you her story?"

"No," I said slowly. "I guess… she was never ready to tell me."

"Well, I know her story."

"You do? How?"

"She told me. When we first met."

"But – can you…?"

"Yes, I will tell you. On two conditions."

"What are they?"

"Firstly, stop complaining. Secondly, get your little _ass_ down here so we can get moving already."

I groaned.

"Enough with the ass cracks already!" I paused, then gave another loud groan as Daegan snickered behind me. "Look, you've got me doing it now too! Goddammit!"

Kurda just rolled his eyes, turned, and disappeared down the stairs again. I sighed, shaking my head and slouching my shoulders as Daegan waited for me to follow him.

"What have I gotten myself into…?" I groaned, then went down the steps, taking them two at a time.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Daegan said behind me. I glanced behind to look at him – but he had looked away, his face serious. I noticed then that he, too, had a set of scars on his left cheek, all close set, and almost identical to Kurda's.

"God, are you that in love with him that you wanted to have identical scars?" I growled. Daegan glared down at me, but didn't say a thing.

Reaching the slightly damp bottom, we found Kurda standing several metres ahead, where the 'half-pipe' ended abruptly, sealed off by a large wall of bars. He stood next to what looked like a door, also made of bars. There was a dark-haired man next to him, standing on the other side of the bars, wielding a sharp spear and an even sharper grin. Kurda glanced up at the moon, half hidden amongst the clouds.

"Time's ticking away, Steve!" He called. Eyeing this new man warily, I approached the two of them.

"Steve, this is Puck, another of my apprentices," he said once Daegan and I had reached them. Puck stepped forward and stuck his hand out towards me.

"Nice ta meet'cha!" He said happily. I eyed his hand with distaste. He raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the other two. "Oooh. You told him, didn't you?"

"He found out himself," Daegan said with a shrug. "I've no idea how though."

Puck rolled his eyes, and grinned at me.

"Yeah, like it isn't obvious, little elf-" Daegan bristled at that, but Kurda stopped him before he could do anything drastic "- anyway, don't worry, I'm completely and utterly into women." He chuckled. "They're so much… _nicer_… than men. So soft and curvy and cute and yet so _naughty._"

I couldn't help but grin at Puck, once I'd found out he was as normal as a vampire could be. Instead, I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you indeed." I told him.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from Daegan." Puck grinned, and then turned to the other two.

"So, are we off now? I'd been waiting here for _ages_," he said. I frowned.

"This was… planned?" I asked softly. The three vampires exchanged glances. Kurda was the one who answered.

"I am only doing as Marcus requests, Steve," he said, then started down through the sewers.

"Wait – what Marcus requests?" I asked, running to keep up with him. "What, you're doing Marcus' dirty work, now?"

"No," he said steadily. "I'm simply doing him a favour in return for some help I have asked of him. Now do you want to learn about Peregrine or not?"

Glaring, I fell back into a slower pace. I could hear Daegan and Puck walking behind me. I hoped Puck was the one breathing down my neck.

"What made her…?" I trailed off, not knowing what to say next. As we walked, the light from the moon and street began to face, eventually leaving us in the darkness known as the sewers. I could hear water sloshing, dripping, flowing, and somewhere, a quiet, skittering sound as rats' claws scrambled over ancient concrete. While I couldn't see a thing, I knew the vampires could. Lucky them.

"What made her the way she is today?" Kurda asked from ahead of me. I nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see me. Luckily, he continued anyway. "Well, a lot of things contributed, really – but I guess you want me to concentrate on her depression and passionate hatred for Marcus, correct?"

"Just get on with it!" Puck called good-naturedly. I was relieved to hear that his voice came from directly behind me.

"All right, all right," Kurda sighed, then paused. "There's a corner here – careful, you don't want to fall into the water."

After we had successfully manoeuvred around the corner, Kurda launched into the story. Perri's story.

"She lived in a peaceful little sea town, or so she told me. Her family had only been there for a year or so – her father had retired early to build his dream home before his heart collapsed on him. Anyway, she was attending the local high school, her older sister going to the nearby university campus and her brother finding a job. As in everything, all was peaceful, even with Peregrine's unruly boyfriend Wesley and his little brother Tobias always crowding the house.

"However, as all stories must go – since the basic structure for a story is the beginning, the conflict, and the conclusion – that peace was not to last – watch your step, by the way. A family was found in their home, all brutally murdered in the classic vampaneze way. Police search everywhere for clues – but none were found. Six days later, a young couple and their sixth month old baby were also found, dead, drained of their blood. Again, there were no clues.

"And then it happened. Tobias had stayed over Peregrine's house – family trouble, you see, they wanted their youngest son away from all of that. When he went home the next morning -"

"His entire family was dead, yes, yes, I got it." I growled, getting bored.

"You have no idea how boring you sound right now, Kurda," Puck piped up. A second later, there was the sound of flesh on flesh, closely followed by a yelp – I guess Daegan had slapped him.

"Fine, I'll hurry it up then." Kurda sighed. I could hear the pout on his voice. Oh well. His fault for taking so long to tell the story. "Well, anyway, Tobias had previously been marked as a victim – and vampaneze don't like to miss a victim, especially _this_ particular vampaneze. So they hunted him down and marked their next victims: the Walters family."

Puck yawned loudly.

"Oh shush you," Daegan hissed.

"What?"

Slap.

"You slap like a girl."

Another slap.

"Let me guess," I said. "The vamp came in, killed Perri's family, killed Toby, and left? Where does Marcus come into all of this?"

"Well, Marcus was the leader of the little vampaneze gang that liked to travel the land and reap whatever it could sow. Peregrine's town just happened to be it."

"But why… why didn't he kill her?"

Kurda fell silent for a moment.

"That… I'm not quite sure about. Maybe he struck a deal with her? Maybe someone persuaded him to spare her life, though I doubt that. Who knows the workings of Marcus' inner mind? Not me, that's for sure. However, that was the conflict – she spent the next eleven years looking for Marcus, and now she has found him." There was a flicker of movement ahead – I think he had turned to face me. "Will the conclusion of her story be tonight?"

"I think we're getting close," Puck, unusually serious now, called. In front of me, Kurda paused. I walked into him, almost causing us both to fall into the sewerage. I think Puck was right – there was a faint light up ahead.

"What happens now?" I asked, watching the soft light glowing faintly on the brick walls.

"Now, you get to meet the _Fuhrer_…"

This time, it wasn't Puck who had spoken.

----

**A.N** Mwuahahaha! Cliffy! XD! Go me, go me!

Just as a note, hermaphrodites were considered wise and special by some ancient culture or another, because of their apparent lack of sex drive. It's strange what you stumble across while wandering the vast expanse of information known only as the Internet.

By the way, the little Hooded Stranger is neither Gannon nor Darren. However, his identity will be revealed next chapter… and he will hold a very, very important role later…

**Jamie Prongs:** Hehe, 'Susan's House' is the name of a song by The Eels. XD. I just randomly chose the song because I liked it… hehe…

**S-A:** Hmmm… is it? Is it really him? And is she really dead yet? XD. And thankyou! – blushes some –

Oh, and I forgot to mention:

This chapter was dedicated to **Die Kikyo Die **for being my 100th reviewer! THANKYOU! – uber-glomps you – Also, by 'Darren-action', I mean that don't worry, Darren won't die. Yet. The story itself – well, read the end of this page and you shall see. Ehehe. He'll have a huge part in it, too. Whee, much fun torturing innocents.

He'll also be in a future story, once I have finished both this diary and Annie's. It will come. Eventually. XD

I'd also like to take a moment to wish **Love Psychedelico** luck in her upcoming HSC/QSE/whatever-they're-called-in-Queensland year. Luck, **Delico**, and may you be triumphant even in death! …er… a little too morbid, right?

Also…. HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY (is that the right adjective…?) AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI! (Yesh, I'm allowed to say this, since it is 3 in the morning. Hehe!)

----

**Next Chapter:**

**Nineteen: Change (In The House of Flies)**

_"I will strike a deal with you, Steve," Marcus said, his long arms folded neatly in front of him, his even longer fingers stroking the side of his face in thought. "If you come with me, I will give you everything you ever dreamed. I will give you the power to fulfil your blood oath. And," he paused, letting the word hang in the air as he smiled wickedly, "I will let the ladies go. _Only_ if you agree to stay with me."_

_I stood, looking from him to where Perri and Annie sat, bound, gagged. Their eyes were screaming out to me. They wanted me to say no._

_But…__ I…_

_My left hand began to burn. I looked down at the scar, and indeed, it was bright red, reminding me of my choice, of my oath, of my _destiny

_I looked up._

_And made my decision._

**----**

**Coming Soon:**

**Discordant Melody – **

**Second Movement**

_"Falling down_

_The mirror is everywhere_

_Reflecting back_

_Everyone._

_I see you, I see me_

_As we once were_

_Broken scream_

_Broken glass_

_Yet still the mirror reflects – _

_What was, what is, what should be_

_You and me_

_Eternity._

_Eternity…"_

_It was impossible to ignore him now. He had kneeled down next to me, placed a large, tough hand on my arm. The knife froze in mid air. I raised my deadened eyes to meet the holes where his once were._

_"Daegan…" He said softly, almost worriedly, almost… _gently_. I bowed my head._

_"I do not know who Daegan is." I said, just as softly as he._

_"Oh, that's right," he said, his strange gentleness gone. "You're Elwyn, now. Elwyn Banning. But whatever happened to Daegan McCarthy?"_

_Quiet. _

_I watched the blood well from the cuts on my arm. Watch. Dark. Heavy. _

_Beautiful._

_"Daegan McCarthy died the same day his prince died."_


	21. Nineteen: Change In The House of Flies

**-**

**Nineteen: Change (In the House of Flies)**

**-**

I whirled around so quickly that I lost my balance. Arms windmilling, I fell back slightly, only to be caught by a large, strong hand. Behind me, I heard a soft splash followed quietly by a curse.

"Thank you very much, Steve," I heard Kurda say softly, his voice laced with both disgust and humour. In front of me, invisible in the darkness, someone snickered. I couldn't concentrate on who it was, though – I was too busy trying to figure out who was clutching my outstretched arm so hard that I could feel my bones splitting under the pressure. White hot pain shot up and down my arm, making me sway on my feet.

"I think you're hurting him, Glada," a deep, gruff voice growled from somewhere towards the side.

"Oh well, he can live with it," the one gripping my arm replied. "He's only a little human."

"Yes, a little human who Marcus just so happens to be interested in. Loosen your grip a little, or I'll be forced to smash your head in."

With a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a groan, the man – _vampaneze__- _in front of me loosened his grip enough for the pain to ebb away slightly. He didn't let go, though.

"I was wondering when you would show up, Gannen, Glada," Kurda said softly. I felt the man to my side shift slightly.

"Hello to you too, Kurda," he said, then I felt his even larger hand clamp down onto my shoulder, my knees almost giving away under the new unexpected weight. "I've got him now, Glada – you can let go."

Glada released his grip on my arm, stepping away.

"Right, so is that all?" Puck said from further off, his voice slightly muffled by the distance.

"Yes," the one I suppose was named Gannen said, his hand never leaving my shoulder. I squirmed slightly under his tight grip, clenching my jaw. "Glada will take you to what you need."

"Follow me," came Glada's voice. More movement. More rustling of cloth. I felt someone brush passed my shoulder, then pause and turn around – Kurda.

"Even in death, may you be triumphant," he whispered to me softly, and I vaguely felt him touch my temples and forehead. "Good luck in there, Steve."

And then they were gone. No goodbyes, no farewells, just a good luck, and away they were, disappearing into the darkness. As quickly as they had appeared in my life, Kurda, Puck and Daegan walked out again, almost as if they were not simply stepping out of the pages of the story that was my life. Which, indeed, two of them were.

That was the last time I ever saw Kurda and Puck.

"Now, then," Gannen said, his voice soft. "You, little man, shall come with me."

And away he took me, off, towards the steadily growing light – towards Annie and Perri. Towards Marcus.

The problem was I didn't even get a say in the matter.

It sucks being a mere human in a sewer full of vamps.

-

We heard them first. Gannen – who turned out to be a silent giant of a man, his face serious, his skin dark purple and eyes just as crimson – had kept his grip on me the entire way, leading me through a maze of dimly lit tunnels. The area he led me to was older than the first section, with no sewerage going through it. Thankfully.

It was in turning around a corner when I heard the laughter.

"Hey, stay away from her!" A woman – Perri – yelled. "Look here, boys – I'm all open for ya – just stay away from the girl!" There was a series of 'ooooh's, followed by guffaws.

"Perri!" Another girl cried, and her exclamation was followed by a short scream. Perri began swearing her head off, flinging obscenities so crude that I actually felt a little sorry for those who they were aimed at.

"Annie…!" I cried, moving to race forward – but Gannen's hand tightened on my shoulder painfully, making me writhe in agony once more.

"Not so quickly, my little friend," he said solemnly. Then, turning another corner, I found myself in a large cavern, big, cold and damp. The torch lights on the surrounding walls made the room brighter than the tunnels I had just been walking through, blinding me for several moments. By the time the white had faded from my eyes, the laughter had died down.

The room itself was large and dry, made of old cobblestone with nooks, crannies and cracks running along the walls, several grates here and there. A few ragged bits of furniture attempted to make the place seem homelier – vampaneze of various sizes mostly congregating around the kneeling, bound figures of Annie and Perri, all looking towards Gannen and myself – to one side, sitting jadedly on the edge of a table, Marcus – lurking forever in the shadows, the little Hooded Stranger, a sullen figure in black, his hands deep in his pockets. Strewn around the room, like discarded toys, were what suspiciously looked like bodies – but I tried to ignore them, instead concentrating on the girls. They looked a bit harassed, Annie's shirt torn slightly, Perri looking dangerously defiant, but otherwise unharmed.

"Steve!" Annie cried, almost with relief.

From his table, Marcus yawned, and jumped down lightly. He sauntered towards me with a cat-like grace, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Ah, so _Herr_ Feisty's name is Steve, then? Interesting. It comes from Steven, which means 'The Crowned One'. Very interesting indeed," he said, stopping in front of me and leaning in close, as if inspecting my face from millimetres away. I glared up at him, willing myself to stand my ground and meet his disturbing crimson eyes.

"You said you wouldn't harm them," I said through gritted teeth, clenching my fists. Marcus shrugged, sending a brief glare at his men. They quickly stepped away from the women, instead occupying themselves with different tasks – some picking up a pack of cards, others disappearing into little nooks to sleep while others wandered off completely.

Again, Marcus shrugged.

"They are men. It is not common for them to see a woman. Who am I to control them?" He smiled at me, then glanced up at Gannen. "You may release him now. I believe his shoulder is sufficiently bruised, _danke__ schon_."

With a stiff sort of nod that seemed almost grudging, Gannen released my shoulder and walked away to stand next to the Hooded Stranger. Together, they seemed to share a glare towards Marcus – obviously, he was not well liked by the two.

Rubbing my shoulder, I motioned towards Annie and Perri.

"May I?" I growled. Marcus inclined his head almost regally, that smile still tugging at his lips.

"Of course," he said. "It is not my place to control one such as you."

To cover my confusion, I just glared at him and quickly made my way to the girls. I could feel Marcus following close behind me, but I tried to ignore him, and instead kneeled down and hugged Annie.

"Are you all right?" I asked her. She nodded, her blue-green eyes hard.

"These bastards kept trying to touch her," Perri growled, her eyes never leaving Marcus. "I wouldn't let them, of course."

"Ah, yes, _meine_little falcon," Marcus purred, kneeling down next to her and taking her chin in his hand. "You are so adorable when you put up a fight."

In response, she spat into his eye.

I was impressed. It was a pretty good shot for someone who had her mouth pretty much clamped shut.

"Get your filthy murdering hands off of her," Annie growled at Marcus. Still smiling, Marcus stood slowly, wiping away the gob of saliva with his sleeve.

"Hmm. I believe the ladies may need a little more restraining. Jecka?" He called. A vampaneze was immediately at his side, and he nodded towards the ladies. There was nothing else said – Jecka produced two strips of material from supposedly nowhere, and proceeded to gag the girls.

I stood up, watching helplessly. Perri was swearing her head off again, her words muffled and slurred under the disgusting material, while Annie's eyes were daggers.

Once he was done, Jecka stood, bowed his head briefly, then disappeared to wherever he came from.

"I thought vampaneze had no ruling system," I growled, watching Annie. She held my eyes. I was trying to reassure her. Telling her to stay calm. She just continued to glower.

_Get me out of here,_ her eyes were saying.

"They don't," Marcus said airily, waving his hand as if waving away the subject. "They just tend to listen to me because of my military background. And _other_ reasons…"

While he talked, he stepped behind me, and before I could do anything, he had grabbed me around my waist with one arm, the other cradling my face, much the same way he had held Perri the night before. "Would I be able to have another taste of your delicious blood, oh Crowned One?" He whispered into my ear, his long fingers stroking my cheek.

His breath was hot.

With a growl, I wrenched myself from his grip and whirled away, my hands clenched into fists.

"Look, I managed to survive an hour without being molested, and I want to keep it that way, thanks!" I found myself shouting despite myself. Marcus' hands dropped to his sides, that smile still on his lips. Damn. It was so damned _annoying._

"My apologies, Crowned One. I just enjoy… _touching_… others…" He said, a little smugly. I was really beginning to dislike this man.

"Yeah, well, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your hands away from me," I growled. "And stop calling me 'Crowned One'. My name's Steve. Steve Leonard. Get it right."

Marcus bowed his head slightly, still smiling away.

"Of course. My apologies again, _Leopard_," he said softly. My eyes narrowed.

"How do you know that name?" I asked. He shrugged, his arms going out wide.

"I have the ability to see what animal a person's spirit is bonded to," he told me, "for all people are bonded to an animal. I, for instance, am a snake. Our lovely little Peregrine follows her namesake – she is a falcon, a bird of prey. Your little dear one with the lovely eyes is a puppy – eager to follow, loyal to a point, with a hard bite and a lack of foresight." He swung around, pointing towards Gannen and the little shadow. "My dear friend Gannen is a bear – well, of course, just look at the size of him! And the young –"

"This is all nice and good and such, but I don't really care at the moment," I snapped, cutting him off sharply. Marcus' hands dropped once more to his sides, his long face still smiling. "I'm here now, which means I can take Annie and Perri and go, correct?"

"Incorrect," Marcus said softly.

"What do you mean, 'in-bloody-correct'!" I cried.

The room had fallen quiet now. Everyone was looking towards us – towards _me_, in particular. I resisted the urge to move, trying to keep my unease in check.

"I want you to do something for me, Steve," Marcus said softly, his eyes never leaving mine. I glared at him.

"What?" I growled.

"You are a man filled with vengeance, with hatred, for another that you cannot reach. Don't say anything – I know it. I can see it, in your eyes, in the way you move – in the scar you bare on your hand."

At this, I glanced down at my left palm, where my scar was showing through the hole I had cut into my glove. The skin was beginning to itch.

"You made a blood oath to find that man, did you not? When you were young and did not know the nature of such things. For, when one makes a blood oath, there is no escaping it. He is forever bound to the person he takes an oath against, their destinies intertwined forever. So, I suppose you could say you yourself have bound yourself with the man you so hate."

I closed my fist, clenching it as tightly as possible. That face was back in my mind again… that person… _Darren_…

He had taken my place.

"I will strike a deal with you," Marcus continued, his long arms folded neatly in front of him, his even longer fingers stroking the side of his face in thought. "If you come with me, I will give you everything you ever dreamed. I will give you the power to fulfil your blood oath. And," he paused, letting the word hang in the air as he smiled wickedly, "I will let the ladies go. _Only_ if you agree to stay with me."

I stood, looking from him to where Perri and Annie sat, bound, gagged. Their eyes were screaming out to me. They wanted me to say no.

But… I…

My left hand began to burn. I looked down at the scar, and indeed, it was bright red, reminding me of my choice, of my oath, of my _destiny._

I looked up.

I could see Darren's face once more, mocking me, taunting me with the power he held.

The power that was meant to be mine.

_Mine_.

I made my decision.

"I will stay with you."

There was what sounded like a strangled cry behind me – next to me, Annie was shouting at me through her gag.

"No…!" The Hooded Shadow had started, but Marcus sent him a deadly glare, his smile all but gone.

"Shut up, boy!" He hissed. The Shadow, who had taken a slight step forward, paused. Then he stepped back and looked away. Marcus stared at the sullen figure for a moment, then he glanced towards Perri and Annie.

I was looking down once more, at my scar. It was burning.

Just like the emotions inside me.

I could _feel_ the burning want for revenge in me rise up once more. Over this last year, it had laid hidden within me, buried under a childish want for a normal life.

But I had finally accepted that I couldn't get my old life back.

I had finally accepted I wanted my revenge.

I saw, but did not see, as the girls were hefted to their feet, their bonds cut and gags taken away. Annie was talking to me, but I could not hear. Something about 'Steve, snap out of it', or something to that effect. Perri was staring at me as if she didn't know who I was, slowly shaking her head from side to side.

I saw, but did not see, as they were led towards the entrance of the cavern. I saw, but did not see, Perri stop.

"No," she said softly.

She turned around. Wrenched her arms out of the powerful grips of the vampaneze that had held her.

"_No_," she repeated.

"Perri…!" Annie – and the Hooded Stranger, but I might have imagined that – shouted. Perri had begun running back towards Marcus, her hands turning into fists, her eyes burning with hatred.

"_NO!"_ She yelled.

Marcus was watching her, his lips twisted in a lazy crooked smile. He didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that he had a crazy mad woman bearing down on him.

She swung her hand back, ready to punch him.

He lifted his hand and grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her easily from the ground.

Her eyes bulged.

"_Perri__!"_ There they were, both of them screaming again.

"Steve, do something!"Annie was screaming, struggling against her guards.

But I did not move.

Vengeance held me in its grips.

"Tsk, tsk," Marcus tutted, bringing his hand forward to stroke the tattooed side of Perri's face. "My poor little falcon."

Then he brought his hand back.

And dug it into her chest.

A horrible sound.

Two screams – neither of them from the victim.

His nails had ripped straight through the back of her jacket.

Blood spread along her clothes, began dripping to the ground.

But I did not do a thing.

Perri stared down at Marcus, her eyes wide, blood bubbling from her lips. She was spluttering.

"Bastard," she whispered, spitting blood onto his face. Marcus smirked. He withdrew his hand from her chest, covered in blood and gore, then flung her over his shoulder almost as if she were nothing.

There was another strangled cry, and the Hooded Shadow ran forward to Perri's side. In his rush, his hood fell away.

It was a boy. He looked no older than fifteen, his face pale and withdrawn, shadows under his too-wise, too-sad brown eyes, his hair brown and slightly curly. There was something familiar about him. Something I couldn't place.

Perri could.

Her eyes were wide as he came to a kneeling rest beside her, cradling her head in his lap. Tears were coursing down his cheeks unashamedly, his normally sad eyes almost painful to look at.

"Perri… Perri…" He was moaning, shaking his head.

Wonder filled Perri's eyes. Blood trickled from her mouth.

"…Toby…?" She whispered.

And then the light disappeared, and Peregrine Walters died.

It was funny. One of the most influential people in my life had just died, and I had done nothing to prevent her death. I didn't feel anything. I was empty. Empty of any sorrow, or pity, of anything –

Except for that burning need for revenge.

But not revenge for _her_ death.

Revenge for myself.

For the taking of what was mine.

At the door, Annie was howling for blood.

"You promised!" The Hooded Shadow – Toby – Tobias Cole – the lost 'adopted' brother of Perri - was shouting at Marcus, the tears streaming down his cheeks, his nose running freely. "You promised you'd spare her life!"

Marcus shrugged.

"I promised I would spare her life for that one night. I did not say anything about not killing her on another date. And anyway, you are a pathetic assistant – you are not really holding up your end of the bargain, are you?" He said lightly, then turned away from Toby's hateful eyes to look towards Annie, who was screaming and struggling against her pair of vampaneze.

"_Steve!"_ She screamed. "_Steve, stop them! Do something! STEVE!"_

I couldn't hear her.

"Bring her to me," Marcus said quietly, crooking a finger to beckon them towards him. The two vampaneze did as they were told, dragging a kicking and screaming Annie towards Marcus. When they finally had her in front of him, she became quite.

"You're a monster," she said quietly, her voice laced with venom, her eyes filled with an absolute hatred. Marcus' smile widened.

"Would you like to join the ranks, then?" He asked her softly. Her eyes widened in confusion. "Hold out her hands.

The vampaneze did as they were told, holding Annie's hands out palm-up. Her right hand was still wrapped in part of Perri's jacket, where she had cut herself on the glass shard.

She began to struggle again.

Using his clean hand, Marcus pressed his nails into her skin and cut at the fleshy tips, drawing blood easily. He repeated this process with her other hand, until all ten of her fingers were bleeding.

"No…!" She cried.

Marcus just smirked and proceeded to reopen the scars on his fingers. He watched his blood flow with interest. Then he looked at Annie.

"Do you understand what I am about to do?" He asked her softly. Her only answer was to struggle harder. Marcus smiled, brushing the side of her face, leaving a trail of blood. "Do not fret, _meine__ leibling_. It won't hurt. Much."

He was just about to press his fingertips to hers when a large hand clamped onto his arm.

"_No_," Gannen said gruffly. Marcus rose his eyes slowly to glare at the big vampaneze.

"Remove your hand," he said softly, menacingly.

"I don't approve of what you're doing," Gannen growled. Marcus smirked.

"You never approve of anything I do – yet you cannot stop me, can you?" He said, then his face hardened once more. "_Remove your hand_."

For a moment, it looked as if Gannen was going to refuse. But then he did as he was told, cursing under his breath, and stood back next to Toby. The boy was bowed over Perri's still, bleeding body, his own body wracked with sobs.

Marcus smirked.

Then he pressed his fingers to Annie's.

Engulfed in my own feelings, I paid no attention to what was happening to those around me. I did not see Marcus and Annie connect, Annie whimpering in pain while Marcus gritting his teeth. I didn't see the vampaneze all around us looking edgily at each other. I did not see Toby on the ground, continuing to cry, Gannen resting a hand on top of the boy's head as if in reassurance.

I didn't see how Annie arched in pain.

I didn't hear her scream.

I didn't see as she broke away from the connection.

I didn't see her stumble back.

She held her hand out, fingers streaming with blood, tears running down her dirty cheeks, her beautiful eyes glaring hatefully towards Marcus.

"On this blood, Marcus van Kütriht," she said, her voice wavering, yet at the same time strong and filled with hate. "I swear, on this blood, I shall slay you. By this blood, I will kill you."

I did not see her turn to me.

I did not see her turn that same hate at me.

"And you too, Steve Leonard. I will kill you too."

A whisper that I did not hear.

I did not see her stumble from the cavern, lost, bloody, frightened, confused, alone, all alone.

I did not see the vampaneze go to move after her.

I did not see Marcus wave them off.

"There is no need – she will perish from the loss of blood," he whispered.

And me?

I was stuck in the glare of a pair of blue-green moons, fire built up around me, a sea of blood lapping at my legs.

On the other side of the wall of flame –

Darren.

My fists clenched.

I would kill Darren Shan.

No matter the consequences.

I began to laugh.

-

**A.N** And so, Peregrine Walters descends the ranks of Mary-Suedom. Sigh. In the original fic I'm writing, she ain't no Mary Sue. She is so much cooler there. And so's Toby. I'd plug it and point you in the direction of my fictionpress account, but I'm not going to put that story up on the net. Hehe.

Oh dear. I randomly added Gannen Harst. Blame Book 11. –pouts- He just seems so… noble. XD I get why **Kikyo** and **S-A** like him so much.

I have to admit though… that was fun! I finally got rid of Perri! Yay! And now I can finally keep going with Annie's diary! Yes, that's right, Annie's diary will now be in full operation as of now! Mwuahaha!

And now it's also the countdown –

ONLY TEN CHAPTERS TO THE END! MWUAHAHA!

CHEER WITH ME NOW!

YAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!

**Die Kikyo Die:** Darren will come eventually in this story, because obviously, Steve and Darren do meet again. Hmm, let me count… Ah, yes. Darren will make his first official appearance in five chapter's time. Mwuahaha. XD. Yay! I'm happy someone liked this chapter, cos I personally loved it! –glomps Daegan- he ish mine. All mine. Mwuahaha! And nuu, I'm sorry, as much as both you and I want it, Steve is not gay. Sigh. Woe is us. But don't worry, I think I'll be writing some slashy stuff soon. Ehehe. Side stories, of course. Mwuaha. And, as much as I love FMA, I didn't get _Furher_ from it. It is the title Germans use for their presidents/leaders, or so I presume. I'm pretty sure they ran around calling Hitler _furher_. Yesh, actually, I think they did. '_Heil, meine Furher!'_ or something to that effect. Mwuaha.

Just as a note, I am in no way obsessed with Germany. I just know a few odd things. Hehe.

In other news… I finished book 12 today, after my Little Person Carrie bought it for me from Hong Kong. God I love my Little Person. –hugs her- Anyway – IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! The ending was so sad, yet so happy! I loved it! But sooo sad… -hugs Steve- I will love you forever, my crazy evil person! –glances at Darren, sighs, and glomps him to- I'm sorry for disliking you too, Darren! I love you too! –big group hug and tears all around-

Ahem. Just to let you know, my version of this little story will turn out much different. Much, much different. Oh yes, my pretty… my love… my… preciousssss….

It's funny, though. Either I've read too many books, or I'm psychic, because everything that happened, I knew would happen. I knew that that would be the only way Darren could outsmart Tiny. I knew something had happened between Annie and Steve. I knew, I knew, I knew… Eh heh. I'll shush now and continuing hugging both Darren and Steve.

Darren: Need… air… please…

Steve: x.X

-

**Next Chapter:**

**Twenty: How Long is the Night**

_The moon was shining down on me. For once, it was not a strangely coloured one of blue or green or even brown. It was a normal one. A normal, grey moon._

_I appreciated the normalcy._

_I sat there for a long time, on the slanted rooftop, watching the moon slowly picks its course across the star-studded sky, wisps of grey clouds lit by the brilliance of the moon. Of course, it wasn't the moon's own light, but rather the light it reflected from the sun – but let's not go into specifics._

_I looked down, down, down at the ground below me. I imagined what would happen if I jumped then and there. Would I splatter? Or would I just flatten, like what happened in the cartoons? If I closed my eyes… would Perri magically appear and save me?_

_Of course not.__ Who was I kidding?_

_She wasn't there anymore._

_No one was._

_No one could save me now._


	22. Twenty: How Long Is The Night

-

**Twenty: How Long Is The Night**

**-**

The moon was shining down on me. For once, it was not a strangely coloured one of blue or green or even brown. It was a normal one. A normal, grey moon.

I appreciated the normalcy.

I sat there for a long time, on the slanted rooftop, watching the moon slowly picks its course across the star-studded sky, wisps of grey clouds lit by the brilliance of the moon. Of course, it wasn't the moon's own light, but rather the light it reflected from the sun – but let's not go into specifics.

I looked down, down, down at the ground below me. I imagined what would happen if I jumped then and there. Would I splatter? Or would I just flatten, like what happened in the cartoons? If I closed my eyes… would Perri magically appear and save me?

Of course not. Who was I kidding?

She wasn't there anymore.

No one was.

"I wouldn't jump if I were you," a voice said from behind me. I blinked, and noticed that I was leaning over the gutter, looking down at the ground below. Slowly, I sank back onto the roof and sighed as Toby sat down next to me.

Toby. Tobias Cole. I still couldn't quite get my head around it. I'd heard from Kurda – from Perri, too – that Toby was dead. I still didn't know why, or how, he was alive, but here he was, looking not a day over fifteen, when indeed he should have at least looked twenty-five.

He was talking.

"…trust me, it hurts more than it looks. Every time I tried, I've managed to twist my ankle," he said with grim humour, his pale, withdrawn face anything but humorous. "Actually, I think I broke a leg one time…"

I raised an eyebrow at him. He caught my look, and shrugged, his expression remaining blank.

"When you live in a world you don't belong in, you tend to go a bit crazy," he told me softly, his strange little voice almost musical.

Pause. Quiet. Somewhere, a siren was whirring.

"How did you…?"

I didn't need to finish my question. He knew what I was going to ask.

"Eleven years ago," he said softly – he only ever seemed to talk softly, but not out of fear or anything. It was more like he was just tired. Tired of everything. His brown eyes, sad, forever sad, were slightly filmed over, as if viewing the past. "Eleven years ago, when Marcus and his group went about… slaughtering the Walters… I remember… Perri jumped out, trying to hit one of them. She was knocked out. They went to kill her, but I, I stopped him…"

He stopped, his hand drifting towards his left cheek. Like others who had dealt with the vampaneze in the past, he, too, sported the three scars of a victim, pale pink against his white face.

"I made him a deal. I would be his assistant, and he would spare her life. He agreed, and we left. The last time I saw her, she was lying face down in a pool of Merry's blood, one hand thrown over Sam as if trying to protect him…"

Toby fell quiet once more.

There were no sounds now, not even the sound of wind rustling through the few trees that were scattered nearby.

"I… loved her…"

His voice was so quiet. So pained.

"She loved you too," I told him. The ghost of a smile flitted over his features.

"Too late, now. She's gone – flown up and away, off to Paradise to join the rest of her family."

Together, we looked up at the sky. The clouds had moved on, leaving the night open and free, a cold wind blowing gently over us. Instinctively, I shivered, wrapping my jacket closer to me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. That ghostly smile spread slightly, a crooked thing.

"It's okay," he said. "We're all born to die – some of us are just due to leave earlier than others. It was her time to catch the train…" He trailed off, his eyes never leaving the sky. "I just want my turn to hurry up and come…"

"Why… why do you stay with the vampaneze, then?"

His answer was a shrug.

"I'm too afraid to kill myself. Too weak." He snorted. Then his fist slammed down into the roof tilings, making them jump and crack. "I _hate_ Kütriht!" He growled.

"Yeah, he is rather hateable, isn't he?" I agreed quietly. Toby sent me a sidewards glance.

"You don't know the half of it."

A comfortable silence followed that, with the both of us watching the starry night. I think there was a song that had something to do with that. _Starry, starry night…_

"When was the last time you slept, Steve?" Toby asked into the quiet of the night. I was about to answer when I stopped, and realised that I had no idea.

"Since… since the night…"

"The night Perri died?"

"No. The night after."

"That's a good four days ago. That's not healthy, you know."

"I know. But…"

I trailed off, causing Toby to look at me.

"But what?"

"I can't sleep."

I refused to look back at him, to look at his face, instead choosing to watch the moon's face.

_Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,_

_Swirling clouds in violet haze,_

_Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue…_

Wow. I was amazed I remembered that much of the song.

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Because… because…"

Because I dream.

I dream of flames.

Of blue and green moons.

Of seas of blood.

They were dreams I couldn't stand.

They were nightmares.

I couldn't sleep.

And quite frankly, I didn't care if I ever slept again.

-

**A.N** A rather useless chapter, but it needed to be in here. Cos I just love that song. And it needed to be worked in somehow.

Cookies to whoever guesses where I got the names for Perri and her siblings! (Her father was obsessed with the books. So obsessed that he named his children after his favourite characters. -.- That's worse than me.) Cookies also go to the person who can tell me the name of the song and singer of the song I quoted. Don't sing it to me though – I've heard it sung at karaokes _one_ too many times…

Also, I'd like to take another moment to wish **Scarlet Black** luck in _her_ year 12 year, and the end of year tests equivalent to the HSC whose name I do not know. XD You know what I mean. Luck, **Scarlet Black,** and may _you_ be triumphant even in death! (Lame, and morbid once more, but I get like that). Also, take a moment to go check out her stuff at deviantart, under the same penname. Awesome stuff. **Scarletblack**** deviantart**. Just add the com and get rid of the spaces. Mwuahaha!

**Cold-night09:** Yeah, I have to agree. All my favourite characters die as well. T.T

**Bug2Buggie:** Yay! Thankyou! I have another fan! –smiles evilly- Soon, I shall ensnare you all in my web… Soon… soon, I shall control the world! MWUAHAHAHA!

-

**Next Chapter:**

**Twenty-One: To Flames**

_A short number of days later, Gannen returned, and once more, I was on the road again. That's my life, for you: forever on the road._

_We travelled as a group, stopping every daybreak at some dark deserted place. Every day, Toby would teach me the ways of the vampaneze, as much as he hated them, and eventually began to teach me how to wield my sword somewhat more proficiently._

_After several weeks of random travelling – weeks that found me growing stronger and closer to my destiny, more weeks of sleepless days and restless nights – we arrived at our destination._

_I got to meet the Guardians._


	23. Twenty One: To Flames

**Warning:** Spoilers for the Saga(book nine and up!) start here! BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!

* * *

**Twenty-One: To Flames**

**

* * *

**

The next day, after finally arising from a fitful, yet thankfully, dreamless sleep, I found that Gannen had gone. When I asked one of the vampaneze where the big man had disappeared to, he just growled and plodded off. I couldn't help but swear at his back.

"Don't bother trying to ask these guys questions," Toby said softly from behind me, startling me somewhat. I glared at him, but he continued on. "They're a grouchy lot. And by the looks of things, you're starting to become just like them." He glared slightly to the side. "Lovely."

"I'm guessing that's not a good thing."

Toby raised an eyebrow.

"Well aren't you the intelligent one. To answer your question, Gannen has gone on some important business, and will return in a few days time. Come with me. I have to grab you some food and then do… stuff."

"Stuff?"

But a glare was my only answer.

I kept forgetting that Toby was part vampaneze too – not only were they 'grouchy', but they also didn't like to waste their breath. I guess that was kind of refreshing after living my entire life having my ears talked off by females.

Then again, women looked – and smelled – a lot nicer than a gang of big, hairy men.

Woe is me.

* * *

After scavenging some decent enough food from a dirty old pub on the outskirts of the town we had travelled to, Toby dragged me off to the ruins of an old church, where he plonked me down onto a crumbling stone and himself on another. I had no idea why he brought me there. My guess would be that it was a fairly private place. 

Then again, Toby might have just thought it looked pretty. Which, strangely enough, the ruin certainly was – grass and weeds growing through the cracks on the ground, a vine lacing its way across the only remaining wall, the moonlight floating down us in slanted rays…

All right.

It's starting to sound a little romantic, isn't it?

Let me assure you – the reason he had brought me here was far from romantic.

Which I soon found when he started to talk.  
"A long time ago," Toby started slowly.

"In a galaxy far, far away…" I couldn't help but quip, but as soon as I did, I stopped, and bit my tongue. Toby was glaring at me. Obviously, he didn't appreciate me mockingly reciting lines that his dead beloved had once worshipped. For, if you do recall, diary, Perri had been a Star Wars fanatic.

Oh, that's right. Keep going. Right. Gotcha. Shutting up. Staying on topic. …Now.

"A long time ago, when the vampaneze first separated from the vampires, a man named Desmond Tiny came to them," Toby continued, pulling his legs up so that he could sit cross-legged on his little rock. "He told them that, in many, many years time, a man would come, and he would unite the vampaneze and lead them to victory in a war against the vampires. All the vampaneze would listen to him, and do whatever he bid."

"Well, isn't that just dandy?" I asked. What can I say? I hated history, and this was most definitely turning into a history lesson.

Toby chose to ignore my comment, however, and continued talking.

"He gave the vampaneze an item to help them discover this 'Lord of the Vampaneze', as he was dubbed, and appointed several of the vampaneze's finest warriors to be the Guardians of this item, travelling around the world to both protect it and to search for the Lord. And every two hundred years, this task is passed on to another set of Guardians, who must compete against each other in a bloody deathmatch until three remain. They are then appointed Guardians."

"This is starting to sound a little religious," I said, barely stopping myself from yawning. This time, Toby glared at me.

"You know, this would go a lot faster if you stopped commenting through it. And by the way, I didn't choose to tell you this – I don't give a damn about vampaneze history either – but you wanted to stay with bloody Marcus, so I have to bloody well teach you everything you need to know. So shut up and listen, all right?"

I pulled a face. He must have taken it as an affirmative, because he ploughed on once more.

"Mr. Tiny also said that there would be three others – the one who would find the Lord, the one who would protect the Lord – and the one who would _teach_ the Lord."

"Right, so, who's the Lord, and who are the other three?" I asked. Toby glared at me.

"Well, so far, no one has successfully passed the test that is set forward by the Guardians – which, by the way, I'm afraid I have no information about. However, the other three have been found."

Toby paused, and this time, I remained silent for him to go on.

"Marcus will be the one to find him. Gannen will be the one to protect him. And… _I_ shall teach him."

I froze. Mentally, I could see pieces of information, like a jigsaw puzzle, putting themselves together to form a vast picture.

A magnificent picture.

A picture that saw _me_ in the centre.

"Are you saying that…?" I trailed off, my heart beating painfully in my chest. Toby shrugged.

"I'm not saying anything. Just that I don't appreciate the role of being a teacher, but hey, who can defy fate, right?" He stopped, blinked once, then leaned forward slightly, his deadened brown eyes boring into me bluntly. "However_ – Marcus_ believes you are… something special. And when Marcus has a hunch, he usually tends to be right."

I hesitated before speaking next, choosing my words carefully.

"And so… where has Gannen gone?"

Toby looked at me evenly.

"Marcus sent him to look for the Guardians."

"The guardians of the item that Tiny gave the vampaneze, correct?"

Toby nodded.

"Marcus… wants you to be tested. To see if _you_ are the Lord of the Vampaneze."

I sat back slightly on my rock, battling to keep my face stoic.

Inside, my mind was racing.

It was beginning to formulate plans.

* * *

A short number of days later, Gannen returned, and once more, I was on the road again. That's my life, for you: forever on the road. 

We travelled as a group, stopping every dawn at some dark deserted place. Though I knew the reason we were moving, the vampaneze did not – Marcus had chosen not to tell them that we were going to see these mysterious Guardians, instead telling them something vague about the need for movement. Though the vampaneze didn't really follow anyone, they listened to Marcus. I guess it was because he was the one meant to find the Lord of the Vampaneze.

Or maybe they just respected him.

Every day, Toby would teach me the ways of the vampaneze, as much as he hated them, and eventually began to teach me how to wield my sword somewhat more proficiently. He would also talk with me – asking me about my life when I was younger, telling me of his. Most of the time, however, he talked about death. It was strange, talking to a person who looked younger than me, about dying.

"Where would you like to be buried when you die?" He randomly asked me one day, looking up at the sky. "I, for one, want to be cremated and scattered to the winds." Toby slowly looked towards me. "Would you like a coffin?"

I blinked, wondering whether to humour him or actually answer his question.

"I… would actually like to die in water, and my body never discovered," I found myself answering, and realised that I was telling the truth.

What can I say? Spending weeks with a kid who was obsessed with death kind of got to you eventually.

After several weeks of random travelling – weeks that found me growing stronger and closer to my destiny, more weeks of sleepless days and restless nights – we arrived at our destination.

I got to meet the Guardians.

For once, I wasn't forced to sleep under the stars – Marcus, Gannen and Toby took me, surprisingly, to a shady-looking hotel deep in the town while leaving the rest of the gang camping in the forest. The hotel was one of those places where, if you had the right amount of money, you could pay people to forget your name, your face, and even if you were there or not.

Upon stepping through the doorway, Marcus marched across the dim, smoky hall towards the shabby counter, and whispered something to the gangly, awkward-looking receptionist. He looked towards us – and then nodded and whispered something back. Marcus slid something across the counter, and then he returned to us, a smug, deadly smile on his serpentine face.

"They are expecting us," he hissed softly, then, slipping his arms around my shoulders, began pushing me towards the old fashioned elevators. "After you, Crowned One."

I yanked myself out of his grip, glaring at him.

"I hope you do recall the fact that I do not appreciate being touched by _you_," I growled. Toby and Gannen exchanged barely concealed amused looks. Marcus just stared back at me in mock-horror.

"Really? Well, I do greatly apologise, _meine leibling_ – it's just habit, after all." He smiled once more. "Shall we?"

I glared at him. Then, shoving open the grate to the elevator, I stepped inside. The other three followed.

Not long after, we were standing in front of a door on the dark, dank fifth level. Marcus rapped his knuckles against the splintering wood while I examined the hall. It was old, the paint caking from the walls, while up near the ceiling, I could see old, abandoned spider webs.

"This place is giving me the creeps," Toby murmured softly to me.

"That makes the two of us," I replied, just as softly.

The door opened.

It was dark.

"In," a soft voice growled, and, without any protest, the four of us stepped inside, Gannen bringing up the rear. Once we were all inside, the door was closed behind us, and the room cast into darkness.

"Is this the one…?" The soft voice asked. I felt Toby flinch slightly.

"No, that's me," I heard him say, almost tiredly. "It's the other one, idiot."

"Now, that just wrecks the whole spooky feeling, kiddo," the voice, now light and humorous, mock-growled. "Ward, the lights, please."

There was a sharp click, and then light flooded the room.

We were standing in a large, almost empty room, the curtains drawn over the windows no doubt to prevent light from filtering in through during the day. Except for several coffins, there was no furniture in the room.

But, other than Toby, Marcus, Gannen and myself, there were three other people in the room.

The one standing closest to us was a small, compact vampaneze, a black blindfold folded neatly over his eyes. His skin, like the other vampaneze in the room, was a blotchy purple, his hair, lips and nails a vibrant red. Though he couldn't possibly see me through the blindfold, he must have felt me studying him, because he cracked a crooked smile.

"Yo," he said, making the 'V' sign for peace with his fingers. He seemed just… a little unorthodox.

Towards the corner of the room, a larger vampaneze stood, an overly large sword strapped to his back. His arms were crossed, making his huge biceps bunch angrily. He watched me with an open hostility – obviously not a man to cross.

The last one, however, hovering near the light switch, was the strangest of all. First of all, the vampaneze was a woman. Barely Toby's height, she looked almost underweight under her black clothing, a thin sword strapped to her side. A scar across her chin marred her small, cat-like face. She regarded me coldly with eyes that still retained their human colour – an icy, crystallised blue.

Despite her apparent fragility, it was easy to see she was no weakling. Just the way she stood showed her power and strength – and speed.

"Steve Leopard, I would like you to meet the Guardians," Marcus said, his oily voice almost sickening in the otherwise silent room. He smirked slightly. "'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' – Izumi -" at this, the first man bowed, that smile still playing at his vibrant red lips, "Striker-" though Marcus gestured slightly toward him, the big man in the corner made no acknowledgement, as if he didn't hear his name being said, "And Ward, one of the only female vampaneze you shall ever meet." The little woman gave a slight, cold nod, her hand resting lightly on her rapier's hilt.

"Don't bother trying to talk to the other two," Izumi said cheerfully. "Striker is deaf, and Ward mute – so neither of them exactly talk." Ward bared her teeth at Izumi in an almost feral way. He just pulled a face back at her, then turned back toward me. Though he was – apparently – blind, he seemed to be studying me with his hidden eyes. "Hmm. You don't _seem_ like much. How old are you? Twenty-five, thirty?"

"Eighteen, actually," I said, a little surprised. Izumi grinned.

"Oh, sorry. You just seemed a little old. Guess your hair's greying prematurely."

"Thanks."

"No problem." He turned towards Marcus' general direction. "So, does he know about the test?"

"He knows… _of_ it… but not what happens _during_ the test," Marcus replied carefully. Izumi tutted.

"So, you're throwing him in the deep end? How fun."

"Indeed."

Ward stepped forward then, patting Izumi slightly on the shoulder. He turned towards her, and, quicker than my eyes could see, she flashed a whole bunch of hand signals. I don't know _how_ Izumi was able to see them, but somehow he did, nodding as if in agreement.

"Right," he said, nodding and turning back towards us. "Steve, was it?"

"Yes."

"Right. Tomorrow… we're going to take you through the test-" Gannen looked sharply towards him, but Izumi continued on, "-so, for now, we… want you to rest. Ever slept in a coffin before?"

"No, and I don't particularly want to," I answered stiffly. Izumi grinned, and shrugged.

"Oh well. It's part of the test."

"Lovely."

"Yup. See that coffin set in the middle of the room? That one's yours."

I looked at the coffin. It was the largest of the lot, a black, ornately decorated thing. The lid was up to show a red velvety lining, slightly dark with age.

"Looks… comfy?" I said. Izumi grinned.

"I like you. You're kinda funny, ya know?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now go to sleep."

I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Toby and Gannen. Gannen, as usual, remained silent, instead given me the slightest of nods. Toby, meanwhile, shrugged, and gave me one of his weak smiles. For some reason, he looked a little… scared.

"Don't worry, Crowned One," Marcus said softly, touching my shoulder lightly. I flinched away from him, and he pouted. "Sleeping in that coffin will not kill you."

How ironic.

I sighed, then, with an awkward glance around the room, I walked up to the large black coffin and pulled myself into it.

It took me a few moments to get comfortable – however large it looked outside, the inside was slightly cramped, thanks to the lining. Finally, I lay there, looking up at the mouldy ceiling. The others had followed, and were looking down at me in a way that made me feel somewhat awkward. Toby's eyes were filled with sorrow – not that that was unusual.

"Okay… so… what now?" I asked.

"Now, I close the coffin lid, and the rest of us go to sleep as well," Izumi stated matter-of-factly, and with that, he closed the heavy lid, sealing me in darkness.

I sighed.

And I slept.

* * *

_Snow._

_It's cold out here._

_Walking._

_Barefoot._

_My feet._

_So, so, so sore._

_So cold._

_I hate the cold._

_Ahead, another figure, walking._

_Ahead of him, yet another figure._

_But it's so cold._

_Ahead._

_Stop._

_Smell something._

_Blood._

_Death._

Vamapneze

_The others stop._

_Debate._

_Decide on our path._

_Keep going._

_To our destination –_

_To the Vampire Mountain._

_"Darren!" The figure ahead calls._

Jolt awake.

* * *

When I jolted awake, I bolted up, forgetting that I had been sleeping in a coffin. With a loud _smack_, my head connected with the upper lining. Though the velvet absorbed most of the impact, my head didn't – the pain spread throughout it, giving me a very, _very_ painful headache. 

I collapsed back down with a moan.

"Owww…"

The lid opened, and Toby peered down at me anxiously. He looked like he hadn't slept.

"He's awake! He's awake!" He called out excitedly as I sat up and peered around. Almost immediately, the other vampaneze in the room bolted to my side, dropping whatever they had been doing. Marcus reached my side first, roughly shoving Toby out of the way and grabbing my hand.

"How do you feel?" He hissed, his face close to mine. I tried to pull back from him and his intense stare, but I couldn't.

"Er… a little cramped, I think… coffins aren't as comfortable as you guys make them out to be…"

Somewhere off to the right, Izumi snorted.

"That's it? Cramped?" Marcus exchanged glances with the others in the room. Ward looked somewhat surprised, while Toby elated. "Amazing."

"What?" I asked. "All I did was sleep in a coffin. I've still got to do this test thing you're talking about."

Marcus smiled then, releasing my hand and stepping back.

"No, no, my dear boy," he said with a chuckle. "That _was_ the test."

"What, sleep in a coffin? That's not very hard!" I scoffed.

"Steve, this is the item Mr. Tiny gave the vampaneze," Toby told me softly. "The Coffin of Fire."

"…Eh?" I asked.

"The Coffin of Fire. When the lid shuts, the coffin… it fills with flame. The one who is meant to be the Lord will emerge from the coffin unmarked…" Toby was saying, his eyes wide. "Steve… you came out… unscathed…"

Marcus took over here, his smile almost splitting his face in half.

"Steve… _you are_ _the_ _Lord of the Vampaneze!"_

* * *

**A.N** Okay, okay, disregard the comment in my profile. It seems like I did get time to update, even though I'm supposed to be rewriting my biology report at this very moment! MWUAHAHAHA! 

I apologise for this verily crap chapter, but I had the inspiration to write, so write I did. I'm sorry. It's so rushed. And fugly. Gah.

By the way – JAPAN RULES! Damn you **Delico!** :P

**Crystal:** Thankyou! I'm glad you like it – and I'm sorry for taking too long to update! School and Japan have taken up all my time! Hehehe!

**Die Kikyo Die:** Noo, there won't be anything with Toby and Steve, I'm sorry. Toby's too innocent for that sort of torture. Oh wait. There's always Marcus… ehehe… the ebil man that he is… -wanders off to have dirty torturous thoughts involving sticks, Marcus, Steve and Toby…-

**cold-night09:** Yay! I like him too. Thankyou! Hehe!

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

**Twenty-Two: Without Wings**

_"…they were all killed. All of them. Slaughtered. Like animals…" The vampire trailed off, his voice wracked with pain. His dead green eyes were filled with sorrow, almost even more so than Toby's eyes._

_"How?" Marcus asked softly._

_"We were found out. They found us." He stopped, and suddenly the sorrow disappeared, replaced by a burning hatred. _"He_ found us."_

_"Who?"_

_"_Him._ The bastard. The usurper. The one who stole my Prince's place."_

_And then the small vampire turned towards me, his face slightly crazed._

_"His name is Darren Shan… the false Vampire Prince."_

_The world froze._


	24. Twenty Two: Without Wings

**Warning:** There's a slight bit of slash in this. Yes, be happy **Kikyo** – it involves Toby, but not quite the way you'd probably expect…

-

**Twenty-Two: Without Wings**

**- - - -**

News of the coming of the Lord of the Vampaneze travelled fast. Within weeks, days even, most of the vampaneze world knew that their leader had come – however, except for Marcus' gang of twenty-five, as well as the three Guardians, no one knew the Lord's true identity. Those who knew had sworn never to tell his name, on pains of a slow, torturous death at the hands of Marcus. The secrecy was good – it would prevent attacks, assassination attempts – the usual thing a leader would be concerned about.

I was really starting to enjoy this whole leadership thing, too.

When we started travelling again, the three Guardians – Haruki Izumi, Donovan Striker and Keaira Ward – joined our party, saying that it was now their duty to help protect me. Whenever we came across a group of vampaneze, though, I would wear a hooded robe, so as to keep my identity secret. Toby would also don a similar robe, to act as a decoy for me. Almost like the Handmaidens out of Star Wars – oh dear. There I go again.

Not everything went well. I was having trouble sleeping once more. During the few snatched hours of sleep I could get, I was plagued with dreams, visions so nightmarishly real that I could _feel_ the flames licking at my skin and burning away my hair, I could _feel_ the sharp points of rock scraping against my stomach, could _feel _my lungs screaming for air as I was lost in a maze of water. I had no idea what they meant, or where they came from – but come they did, every few days. I soon learned to sleep lightly, so that as soon as I could feel myself slipping into a deep unconscious state, I would wake myself up again. Sounds strange, but I managed to do it.

And also, I noticed something strange about Marcus. Sure, he was a strange man, so any strangeness from him was considered normal – but he seemed… different. He was more distant than usual, prone to sitting in a deep, thoughtful silence. At times, I would even notice him staring off into the distance – towards the west, back towards the area where we first started journeying. It was as if something back there was calling for him – pulling him back, back to Germany…

-

It was during these further weeks of travelling that I discovered something that truly disturbed me.

I had always known it, really, on a subconscious level. Just the way they acted around each other – the sadistic smiles, the winces, the edginess, that twisted look, the barely concealed sobs during sleep – should have given it away. But I never put two and two together, too enthralled in my own business. I should have noticed – not that it would have mattered. Too much damage had already been caused.

We had been staying in a large, abandoned warehouse, reminiscent of the one where my first kill with Perri had occurred. There were several rooms coming off the sides, dark, dank things. Most of the group stuck to the middle of the warehouse, making a small fire on the hard, stained concrete and gathering around it to play cards and have a talk.

I then noticed that Toby was missing.

As was Marcus.

Wanting someone to talk to, I left the group and began searching the rest of the warehouse for my little missing friend.

I found him in the furthest, darkest room.

Pressed against the wall.

Trying not to cry out in pain.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a low, dangerous voice. I knew what he was doing – could see it quite plainly.

Marcus paused, and turned his head slowly towards me. That sick, sadistic smile crept onto his face.

"Ah, the Crowned One," he said, taking a moment to – to…! He stepped back, doing up his pants and faced me. He didn't seem at all annoyed, even though I had disturbed him. Behind him, Toby sank to the ground and curled up into a small ball, tears of anger glittering on his face.

Marcus stepped towards me. I bunched my fists.

"Get away from him!"

Marcus paused, then smirked.

"As you wish, my Lord," he said coolly, bowing deeply at the waist, then straightened and smiled down towards Toby. "I will see you later, Toby."

Toby, despite obviously trying to keep mute, let out a soft whimper.

That made me snap.

As Marcus stepped towards me, I brought my fist back – and slammed it into his jaw. The vampaneze had no reaction; he didn't step out of the way, or even flinch. His expression didn't even change.

Almost as though he had expected the punch.

I put my entire strength into the punch. But the strength of a human is nothing compared to the strength of a full vampaneze's face. I felt a strange popping sensation in my two first knuckles – the pain immediately raced down my hand and up my arm, but I fought against it, refusing to show weakness as I brought my fist back.

Marcus' expression remained the same – that small, evil little smirk. His lip was bleeding, nothing more.

"You have much to learn, Crowned One," Marcus said, oh so very softly. And then he left.

Toby slowly stood, pulling his pants up. His movements were shaky, tense, full of anger. He didn't look up, carefully hiding his tears under a curtain of his slightly curled brown hair.

I remained where I was, unsure of what to say or do. What does a person say when they walk in to find their friend getting… raped? Well, probably a lot of things. But hey – I'm not a people person. I have no idea what to say in _any_ situation.

"Toby… are you…?"

"Yes, Steve. I'm fine." His voice was distant, far away. I knew he was lying.

"How… how long has this-"

"Happened for? Eight years, on and off." He shrugged, sniffing loudly, and finally looked up. His eyes – they were so… "I became used to it."

"But – why! Why haven't any of the others stopped it, or, or-"

"Because to them, it's normal," he said dully. "It's normal for a vamapaneze to screw his assistant."

Another shrug.

He looked so…

Lost.

An abused little puppy, lost in a world that was not his own.

It was then that I made my decision:

I resolved not to let another person harm him.

Especially Marcus.

-

Once I made sure Toby was distracted (I had Izumi challenge him to a game of poker, something that even Toby couldn't refuse, a card game against a blind man) I confronted Marcus.

The thin vamapaneze had been leaning on a pillar near a window, away from the others, his face a mystery. There was still a cut on his lip – he obviously hadn't tried to heal it. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, while his eyes were searching for something amongst the grey mass clouds outside.

It was raining.

"A blood oath, hmm?" He whispered softly to himself. "Who would have thought that girl could have done such a thing…?"

He didn't notice me at first, even as I stood beside him, glaring at him. It was only when I cleared my throat when he finally tore his red eyes away from the clouds to look at me.

"Ah," he said, that smile creeping once more back onto his face. "I was beginning to wonder when this was going to happen."

I kept the surprise from my face. How had he known…?

"Leave." Was all I said. "Now."

Marcus inclined his head slowly, his long hair falling into his face. He didn't reply.

At some point in time, Gannen must have sensed something was up, because I suddenly noticed him standing at my side, his arms crossed. I could see he was struggling to keep the joy from his face – if anyone hated Marcus more than I did, it was Gannen.

"You heard the Lord, Kütriht – leave." Though there was no smirk on his face, it could be plainly heard on his voice. He was very pleased with this turn of events.

Marcus looked up again, that smile never leaving his lips. He stood straight, stretching his back out like a cat.

"Fine," he said airily. "Let me inform Toby that we are-"

I slammed my hands into the pillar on either side of his face, bringing my own close to his. This time, he did flinch, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

"Toby is not going with you," I growled. Marcus' face changed into an angry, vicious scowl.

"He is _my assistant!_ I do with him what I will!" He growled back. I smirked.

"He's learnt enough from _you_ – if he learnt anything at all. But now he's _my_ teacher. And he's staying with me."

"'And all the vampaneze shall do as he bids'," Gannen quoted, his own face smirking brightly now.

Marcus' internal struggle was reflected on his face. I watched in interest as his expression changed from merely angered, to enraged, calm, then enraged again. Finally, his face smoothed over, and that smile spread once more. He turned his face away from me slightly, lightly grabbing a hold of one of my arms.

"Very well, my Lord," he said softly, his grip on my arm tightening. "I will do as you bid."

I kept my hands planted on either side of his head, glaring at him. He refused to look up – but his grip on my arm tightened ever more so. Keeping my face straight, a slowly stepped back, and in response, he released me.

I stepped back.

At first, he didn't move.

Then he turned and walked towards the rest of the group, looking down.

He stopped though.

As one, everyone turned towards the entrance.

"Take me to Marcus! I am a friend – a _friend_ dammit!"

Seconds later, Striker and Ward appeared, dramatically silhouetted against a raining backdrop, both of them drenched to the bone. Almost as if it were no effort at all, Striker held a small, wet, struggling man, who was kicking and thrashing wildly in his attempt to get out of the larger man's hold. The little man was vaguely familiar – sandy hair, that small stature – but I couldn't place his face.

"Let – me – go!"

"She says that they found him skulking around outside, and that he demanded to be taken to Marcus." Izumi explained in his mysterious way after Ward had quickly signed a message to him.

Marcus measured the small, dripping man, now remaining still in Striker's grip. There was no change in Marcus' face – no flash of recognition, nothing.

"Let him go, Striker," Marcus said softly. Striker looked quizzically to Ward – she signed him the message, and he nodded, finally understanding, and let the little man go. He collapsed into a small, shaking heap on the ground, creating a puddle on the ground.

Frowning, Marcus stepped forward.

"Daegan… where is Glada? Kurda?"

The little man looked up, his face utterly miserable.

_Daegan…?_

And then it all snapped into place – Daegan. A vampire. The companion of Kurda Smahlt – who had had mysterious dealings with Marcus.

"…Where are they…?" Marcus asked into the quiet.

"…they were all killed. All of them. Slaughtered. Like animals…" The vampire trailed off, his voice wracked with pain. His dead green eyes were filled with sorrow, almost even more so than Toby's eyes.

"How?" Marcus asked softly.

"We were found out. They found us." He stopped, and suddenly the sorrow disappeared, replaced by a burning hatred. "_He_ found us."

"Who?"

"Him. The bastard. The usurper. The one who stole my Prince's place."

And then the small vampire turned towards me, his face slightly crazed, a strange, almost sadistic smile on his face. It was almost as if he _knew_ what impact his next few words would have on me – and he enjoyed the fact that he would be able to bring so much pain upon someone.

"His name is Darren Shan… the false Vampire Prince."

The world froze.

There was no way he could have known – in fact, no one could have possibly known just how much those few words could grip me. But they did – a cold, dark shadow, wrapping its skeletal claws around my heart and squeezing painfully. At the same time, something within me welled, something just as equally dark and ominous, something so terrible that it threatened to seize my sanity then and there, threatened to drive me completely and utterly insane.

To turn me into a monster.

With a speed and ferocity that amazed me, I strode forward, gripped a handful of Daegan's wet shirt, and lifted right off the ground, my arms shaking at the effort. He made no attempt to struggle, that crazed smile still on his white face – and yet there I was, my face twisted in an ugly scowl as I held him above my eye level.

"_What_ did you say!" I growled, shaking him. His face didn't change.

"Darren Shan," he said in a childish sing-song voice, almost giggling. And then suddenly, he, too changed, his face becoming almost an exact mirror of mine. "Darren Shan. He killed my Prince. And for that -"

He paused, a ghost of that crazy smile creeping onto his face once more.

"And for that, _I will kill him!"_

A pause.

Outside, lightening flashed.

It was a low grumble at first, much like the roll of thunder heard several seconds later. But the sound quickly escalated, becoming a loud, full-grown growl erupting from my throat.

Using all my might, I heaved Daegan away from me, sending him crashing into the ground. There were a few sharp intakes of breath – one 'Steve…!' from Toby, and a 'My Lord!' from someone else.

"_NO!_" I yelled. "He's _mine!_ Only _I_ can kill him – he is _mine, _and mine _only, no one elses_! He took my place – he took my place, do you hear me! _I will kill Darren Shan!"_

All was still.

My chest heaved from my outburst.

Lightning flashed.

Slowly, Daegan shifted from his crumpled position on the ground, his eyes downcast. He shuffled towards me on his knees, and I could see, through the gaps of his wet sandy hair, that crazy smile of his still shining.

"Very well," he said softly, cocking his head slightly so that one green eye could look at me. "I see he is already claimed for another – so I will do the next best thing."

He paused. Then he slowly lowered his upper body, pressing himself to the ground.

"I offer my allegiance to you, my Lord. I will be your eyes and ears – all the secrets of the Vampire Mountain shall be found out and laid bare for you," he said solemnly, his voice loud enough for the entire group to hear. "I will be your spy, Lord of the Vampaneze."

I remained silent, glaring down at the little man grovelling at my feet. My fists clenched – the scratch on my left hand itched terribly.

Finally, I gave a tiny, tiny smirk.

"I accept your offer."

Daegan looked up a little, his eyes dancing crazily.

"Of course, I do have the right to torture Shan as much as I want."

I smirked openly now.

"I will allow you that much, as payment for your services," I said slowly, nodding. My eyes turned stony. "But only _I_ shall kill him."

Our eyes locked.

He matched my smirk.

"Yes," he said. "Only _you_ shall kill him."

-

**A.N** …bleh.

-

**Next Chapter:**

**Twenty-Three: Sunny Came Home**

_With the apparent needless deaths of twenty odd vampaneze at the hands of the vampires, the purple-skinned creatures of the night were able to declare open war on their estranged cousins. This, of course, was orchestrated by me, with the help of my growing entourage: Gannen Harst, my main protector, Toby, my small advisor, Izumi, Striker, and Ward, my three silent guardians, and my spy, Daegan – though he now liked to call himself 'Elwyn', believing that 'Daegan' was a failure. Or something along those lines._

_With Elwyn's help, I was able to gather as much information on our enemies as possible. Their strategies were laid out before us, almost as if on a golden platter – making us always at least three steps ahead of them. _

_It was also through Elwyn that I was able to learn more about the two I hated most – Shan and Crepsley. It was through this gathered intelligence that I was able to formulate a plan._

_Two years passed._

_It was only after I met another man who had been wronged by Shan was I able to put my plan into action._

_The man was R.V._

_And my plan was one of Retribution._


	25. Twenty Three: Sunny Came Home

- - -

**Twenty-Three: Sunny Came Home**

**- - - -**

Marcus left the group soon after, taking with him only his personal effects and one vampaneze, a young, spritely fellow by the name of Jecka. There were no goodbyes, no handshakes or wishes of good luck – Marcus just slung a bag over his back, whistled to Jecka as if he were a dog, and disappeared into the night, almost as mysteriously and easily as he had stepped into my world.

I never saw him again.

With the apparent needless deaths of twenty odd vampaneze at the hands of the vampires, the purple-skinned creatures of the night were able to declare open war on their estranged cousins. This, of course, was orchestrated by me, with the help of my growing entourage: Gannen Harst, my main protector; Toby, my small advisor; Izumi, Striker, and Ward, my three silent guardians; and my spy, Daegan – though he now liked to call himself 'Elwyn', believing that 'Daegan' was a failure. Or something along those lines.

With Elwyn's help, I was able to gather as much information on our enemies as possible. Their strategies were laid out before us, almost as if on a golden platter – making us always at least three steps ahead of them.

It was also through Elwyn that I was able to learn more about the two I hated most – Shan and Crepsley. It was through this gathered intelligence that I was able to formulate a plan.

Two years passed.

It was only after I met another man who had been wronged by Shan was I able to put my plan into action.

The man was R.V.

And my plan was one of Retribution.

- - -

The way I met R.V was really coincidental. We just ran into each other one day – quite literally.

It was one of those days that Toby took me out training – let me stress the word 'day' here, seeing as neither of us were full vampaneze, so were able to move around in daylight. Anyway, we were in a woody area of some sort, with Toby taking me through a drill with my sword. Despite his size, Toby was actually quite a formidable opponent when it came to fighting; his weapon was, like mine, a sword, only his was made out of what looked like gold. It wasn't of course – that would have been just plain stupid, seeing as gold was highly malleable, therefore a golden sword would blunt before you got the chance to carve your enemy's head off.

Anyway, as I was saying, he had been taking me through some pretty complicated drills when quite suddenly, a raving lunatic lurched out from the bushes towards us.

No, I'm being serious, here.

He did.

"Kill him!" He was yelling. "_Kill him!"_

…Needless to say, both Toby and I were quite startled.

The lunatic ran straight passed me, waving stumpy arms in the air madly. Instead, he headed straight for Toby – his eyes filled with hatred.

"_You took my hands!" _He screeched.

In that split second, Toby glanced at me, his expression comically bewildered. Then, dropping his sword, he stepped lightly to the side, gripped one of the man's stumps, stuck his leg out, and shifted his weight.

Down went the lunatic.

Toby, pulling the man's stump back hard behind his back, promptly sat down on the screeching, twisting man.

"_Kill you! Kill you! You took my arms, Shan!"_

Silence came crashing down onto the world, as it so often did when a strange random person mentioned the name of my hated one.

Toby turned slowly towards me, his little mouth a grim line, eyebrows shooting up into his curly hairline. I was glaring down at the crazed, hairy, dirty man. He was practically foaming at the mouth in his attempt to buck Toby off him – but a deranged madman is no match for a half-vampaneze, despite the large size difference. Toby stayed where he was, easily straddling the man.

"What did you say…?" I stage-whispered. The crazed man took no heed – he kept twisting and squirming.

"_You took 'em! My hands! I hate you, Shan!"_

And then he collapsed into a sobbing, pathetic heap, shaking uncontrollably. Toby remained where he was.

An idea formulated in my mind, as suddenly as they always did. Carefully, I stepped forward and squatted in front of the man.

"Did Darren Shan do this to you?" I asked him slowly. He lifted his head, his eyes barely visible under a mass of dark hair. I could just see them – two, wide, scared baubles.

Slowly, he nodded.

I smiled, feeling it creep to my face eerily.

"What would you say if I told you I had away for you to get your revenge…?"

- - -

It was not long before I had persuaded the vampaneze to blood R.V, which they did grudgingly, and it was not long after that, either, before another brilliant idea presented itself to me.

Vampaneze were traditional creatures, and prided themselves in this fact. They did not lie; they thought it dishonourable to fight someone when their back was turned; and they did not use projectile weapons.

With the arrival of R.V, however, I started thinking. The vampaneze and vampires were evenly matched, both bound by their traditional laws. _However_ – if the vampaneze were able to get _around_ those laws, it would give their side a much greater advantage.

And so I told them my idea:

_Vampets._

Humans who, like myself, would learn the ways of the vampaneze for several years before being blooded.

Humans who were unbound by the traditional laws.

Humans who could use projectile weapons.

They didn't like my idea at first – but then a swift reminder of who I was and the powers I held quietly squashed any qualms they had, and they readily did as they were told.

Oh, how I loved this.

- - -

He came suddenly, quietly slipping into my makeshift quarters without me realising. I was leaning on an old desk, peering down at a world map that had many coloured pins stuck it in, when I felt his hand slip onto my shoulder.

"Hello, my Lord…" came his soft whisper, somewhere near my ear.

I jerked away.

Elwyn grinned that crazy grin of his.

"I have found out what you wanted to know," he said softly, slowly leaning on to the map. I couldn't help but glare at him, folding my arms.

"There were a lot of things I wanted to know," I growled. "What did you find for me?"

He didn't answer, instead turning towards the map and pulling out a pin. I glared as I watched him inspect the little red-topped thing, poking his finger with the sharp end. A drop of blood appeared, and he watched it in fascination.

"Well?" I asked impatiently.

"Crepsley," he said in a singsong voice, still watching the bead of blood. It began to creep down his upheld finger slowly, curling around it.

I paused.

"What about Crepsley?"

Elwyn turned his attention to me, still smiling.

"Creepy Crepsley was born…" He paused for a second, as if to think, then smiled, turned around, and stabbed the map with the pin. "Here!"

I blinked, then stepped forward and leaned over the map.

He had stuck the pin directly into a spot. The letters next to the spot told me the name of the city, one that I'd heard of vaguely once before. It was famous for its…

Something.

I smiled.

"Are you sure about this?"

Elwyn giggled, and strangely, skipped around the table once. I had no idea what the point of that was – he just did.

"Of course I'm sure, silly!" He sang, then suddenly stopped and wrapped his arms around my waist. I made no attempt to shrug away from him this time – I was too busy looking down at the map as my plans began to blossom and flourish within my mind.

"So… what are you going to do…?" He asked in a soft, husky whisper. I reached over and pulled out several more pins, then, with slow, deliberate movements, I slowly stuck them around the little dot Elwyn had marked out.

"We start moving troops there," I said, beginning to grin now. "I have plans."

- - -

**A.B **Bleh, short and yucky chapter. I'm sorry. T.T That was so yucky…. Gaaaaaah… Oh well.

GUESS WHO APPEARS NEXT CHAPTER! XDDDDDDD!

**Die Kikyo Die:** Hmmm. The question is: what is it that you think I'm going to be doing with Toby:D

**Shadow's Dark Angel:** Thank you! And where do I get my ideas from? Hmmm… well… I'm not sure, really. I'm usually sitting on the toilet or in the shower when I just randomly get hit by inspiration. Honest to god. I got an idea for a LartenArra while on the toilet today… Hmmm… and maybe the cold showers get my muses to stop screwing each other and instead inspire me, or something like that…. Meh!

- - -

**Next Chapter:**

**Twenty-Four: Too Close To Hate**

I stood away from the others, hidden behind the bulk of Gannen. From here, I could catch every bit of action happening – Lady Evanna was backing away, while some of my vampets had one of the vampires cornered.

_"My Lord!" Toby had cried, his sword held in front of him, taking a step back. He had his robes on, concealing his face. "Go! Leave now!"_

_"No!" I snarled. "I must see –"_

_I stopped._

_There he was._

_A teenager._

_Standing in the middle, blood splattered across his pale face, a short sword held in one hand. His right thumb was missing, completely hacked off by someone else's blade._

_He was glaring at me._

His eyes were filled with hate.


End file.
